Grandweld snags five-vessel order based on new crewboat design 

While day rates and utilisation levels do not yet support constructing OSVs, there has been fleet renewal activity in the crewboat sector. One of the latest orders was placed with Dubai-based Grandweld, which inked a deal to construct five, 42 m crewboats for Middle East owner Jana Marine Services.

These crewboats are based on the shipyard’s own in-house design, GrandExtreme, which offers “a wider, more spacious accommodation area, with an interior layout that can be customised to meet different charter requirements,” according to Grandweld.

The first crewboat in the series will be delivered in nine months and will be designed with a relatively high offshore personnel capacity of 135; it will meet the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) code for carrying dangerous goods and will have higher fuel capacity of 120 m³. The other four vessels have a GrandMajlis lounge, office, large workshop, storeroom and offshore personnel seating. The vessels are in full compliance with the end customer’s latest requirements in Saudi Arabia.

Grandweld Shipyards Jamal Abki, said: “This large order ensures we have a solid shipbuilding order book until the end of 2023. Customers only return when they see great value in the products, and we are very pleased to have achieved this again with Jana Marine. Grandweld has delivered the majority of crewboats to this region, with the key reason being that we build and design the best crewboats for the market.”

“This large order ensures we have a solid shipbuilding order book until the end of 2023”

This order increases the total number of vessels built by Grandweld for Jana Marine to 12, with Grandweld previously having built four crewboats, one work vessel and two harbour tugs.

Jana Marine MD, Mohammed Al Subaie, said: “Prompt delivery, an excellent design, competitive pricing, and our long relationship built on trust made Grandweld the clear choice. The GrandExtreme design will differentiate Jana’s crewboat fleet in the crewboat market, as it has proven capabilities, reliability, and quality we always see from Grandweld, with the addition of added comfort and space for personnel.”

Recent deliveries from Grandweld include the crewboat Tamimi 4. Based on Grandweld’s GrandMax design, built to ABS class and delivered in 2021, Tamimi 4 is owned by Saudi Arabia-based High Seas Marine, and has an overall length of 40.7 m, beam of 8.3 m and depth of 3.7 m.

Constructed of aluminium, GrandMax design has a deck cargo area of 110 m², deck strength of 2 tonnes per m², with a fuel capacity of 100,000 litres and accommodation for 14 crew and 100 offshore personnel. Propulsion is supplied by four 1,650-hp main engines that drive four fixed-pitch propellers to a performance speed of 31 knots. The vessel can be customised as a crewboat, security boat or firefighting vessel, with optional ballistic protection and fuel monitoring systems.

Grandweld is part of Stanford Marine Group, which is wholly owned by Thalassa Investments.