Sembcorp has completed the first phase of its state-of-the-art shipyard on Singapore’s west coast, Nina Rach reports.
Sembcorp Marine celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2013, and continues to expand and upgrade its facilities, laying the foundation for long-term, sustainable growth. The company is building Phase 1 of an expanded yard in Singapore, at Tuas. The entire 206-hectare new facility will be developed in three phases over 16 years.
The Tuas yard joins Sembcorp Marines’s current Singapore properties: Jurong Shipyard, Jurong SML, Sembawang Shipyard, PPL Shipyard, and SMOE.
Sembcorp Marine has also established a global network of shipyards including P.T. Karimun Sembawang Shipyard and P.T. SMOE in Indonesia, and the new Estaleiro Jurong Aracruz integrated facility under construction in Brazil. It has also invested in Indian yards: Pipavav shipyard and Sembmarine Kakinada, and several yards in China, the UK, and the US.
Sembcorp Marine President and CEO Mr. Wong Weng Sun presented details of the new Tuas yard in Singapore and the new yard in Brazil at the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston this year and spoke with OE. Wong believes the new efficiencies in the Tuas yard could bring cost savings of up to 20%. The company is investing more than US$1.5 billion to build the two stateof- the-art shipyards, geared for the offshore oil and gas industry.
Tuas-Phase 1
Commercial operation of Phase 1 facilities at Tuas began in August 2013, with all four drydocks busy with repair jobs in late September. More ships are expected to be rerouted to the Tuas yard from Pulau Samulun, an offshore island in Jurong Industrial Estate, separated from mainland Singapore by Selat Samulun. This is Jurong Shipyard’s main repair facility.
The Tuas project was first announced in November 2009, but the new shipyard had been envisioned for decades, and is built on reclaimed land at Tuas View Extension, with new docks and quays. This gave the company the luxury of designing from the ground up, without having to retrofit enhancements into pre-existing structures. With space at a premium, the company planned an efficient layout, with integrated, work-effective operations. New automation and abundant overlapping crane coverage is particularly impressive.
The new yard covers 73.3 hectares, equipped with four very large crude carrier (VLCC) drydocks of 1.55 million deadweight tonnes (dwt). The total quay and wharf length is more than 3.8km. The yard contains stateof- the-art production technology and workshops for ship repair, rig repair, upgrading, and ship conversion, such as floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) conversions. The Tuas yard is capable of servicing a range of vessels, including VLCCs, mega containerships, liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, passenger ships, and offshore vessels.
With the addition of Phase 1 facilities, the Group’s ship repair and ship conversion & offshore capacity will nearly double from the previous 1.9 million dwt.
Costs for Phase 1 were higher than the original target because certain building works (including the dormitory) were brought forward.
Tuas-Phase 2
In December 2012, Sembcorp Marine acquired a 34.5 hectare site at Tuas View South Extension for the second phase of Tuas yard development. This is adjacent to and north of the Phase 1 yard. It will be developed over 4-5 years.
Sembcorp Marine’s Tuas land tenure for both Phase 1 and Phase 2 is 30 years, plus 30 years leasehold. Executive direction Mr. Goh Geok Ling is the Chairman of the Board of Sembcorp Marine, appointed in February 2006. He also serves as Chairman of Jurong Shipyard, Sembawang Shipyard, SMOE, and is a director of Sembcorp Industries. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering from the University of Sydney, Australia.
Mr. Wong Weng Sun is the President and CEO of Sembcorp Marine, appointed in May 2009. He is also the Managing Director of Jurong Shipyard and sits on the boards of several of the Group’s subsidiaries, including Jurong Shipyard, Sembawang Shipyard, SMOE, and PPL Shipyard.
Mr. Wong is the President of the Association of Singapore Marine Industries and is also on the boards of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore and the Singapore Maritime Foundation. Mr. Wong serves on advisory panels and committees at the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University and at the Centre of Innovation, Marine and Offshore Technology, Ngee Ann Polytechnic. He holds a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering (Marine) and an MBA from Oklahoma City University. OE
Caption, top: Mr. Wong Weng Sun, President and CEO, Sembcorp Marine
Caption, middle: Computer-aided rendering of the new facilities at the Tuas shipyard
Caption, bottom: View of the new yard at Tuas View extension, with multiple Finger Piers, Wharfs, Drydocks, and Quays.
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