A&P outlines its ambitions for more offshore work

Against the background of what it called a “very competitive marketplace for its services”, A&P Group in the UK says it plans to build on its shiprepair, fabrication and conversion business, and focus on potential opportunities in the offshore oil and gas sector

To meet these requirements the company is bringing the activities of the two yards in the northeast of England, on the Tyne and Tees, into a single strong business unit focussing on the benefit of the synergies that exist between them. The unit will be led by Chris McManus who has been appointed managing director North East business.

The intent is to create the necessary focus, flexibility and competitive cost base to meet both existing and emerging market requirements, noting that Mr McManus has been appointed “to drive these initiatives forward both within the business and externally in the region that will lead to growth and a secure future”.

Mr McManus is the former managing director at the Tees site, and brings to the northeast business a strong focus on business development. He intends to fully utilise the facilities at the yards to deliver solutions for the energy sector whilst not losing the prime focus on the shiprepair and conversion markets.

As part of the restructuring and reorganisation of the A&P North East Business, Stewart Boak, managing director of A&P Tyne, has left the company after 28 years of involvement in shiprepair on the River Tyne. Mr Boak decided it was time to look for new challenges in his career.

Commenting on his departure, Mr Boak said he believed the changes now put in place would further develop the services offered by A&P to its customers and allow the company to continue to support the marine and energy markets for the future.

A&P Tyne made a good start to 2012 with a multi-million pound orderbook for the first quarter of the year. The Hebburn yard, which suffered a disappointing end to 2011 with the unexpected loss of an aircraft carrier contract, has bounced back and is now bustling with activity as work progresses on five vessels.

Two newly-built subsea construction vessels, chartered by Reef Subsea, underwent work which included changes to their engine exhaust systems and accommodation areas. The vessels were built in China but arrived at A&P at the end of last month for enhancements which will enable them to better meet the needs of the oil, gas and renewables industries.

A&P Tyne projects director Darren Brown said: “In addition to the exhaust system changes, we are upgrading the accommodation, increasing the number of cabins and shower facilities and supporting the remotely operated vehicle [ROV] team in rebuilding the ROV control centre.” He described it as a valuable order, lasting eight to nine weeks.

The yard also recently welcomed the arrival of the offshore support vessel (OSV) Normand Oceanic, part of a large fleet operated by Subsea 7. A&P Tyne successfully fulfilled four important orders for Subsea 7 last year. The 156.9m-long Normand Oceanic underwent electrical work for ROV installation, the installation of new cabling, and modifications to bulwarks. Mr Brown said the work took around 17 days to complete.

Two vessels – the OSV Highland Prestige and the Ugland UR141 barge from Norway – also used the drydock at the yard recently, undergoing general maintenance work and overhauls, lasting between 7 and 10 days. Mr Brown described this as “traditional, drydock programme work, all of which is very welcome – it keeps business going and people employed.”

In addition to shiprepairs, the yard’s steelwork facility has been working on several fabrication projects, including a big order for Sparrow Baricon, rebuilding an existing carousel together with a new lay tower for their client Technip Offshore Wind Ltd, scheduled to take four months to complete.

The yard has been extremely successful in recent times, completing a major section of the new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth six weeks ahead of schedule last summer, but it suffered a blow last November when BAE Systems decided to reclaim some carrier work it originally intended to sub-contract to A&P.

Mr Brown added: “We are dealing with some big companies, such as Subsea 7, and we are now becoming the yard of choice in many instances. It’s not always just down to price, its quality and schedule and a major factor is safety – and we have an exceptional safety record.”

At the other end of the UK, A&P Falmouth had a very busy first quarter to 2012, working on 34 projects including offshore supply vessels, ferries, naval vessels, tugs and barges, and manufacturing the first wave energy device to go onto the FabTest site in Falmouth Bay.

The wave energy device for installation in Cornish waters is a Bolt ‘Lifesaver’, Fred Olsen’s new wave energy converter. A&P Falmouth was awarded the contract to manufacture the device in conjunction with engineers Supacat. This involved procurement of materials, fabrication in the workshop, assembly at dockside, and careful placement into the sea by a tandem lift using Falmouth’s large dockside travelling cranes.

The Bolt Lifesaver structure demanded a very tight tolerance of plus or minus half a millimetre over the entire length. This means creating large jigs, each made from two-inch thick plates of steel, which are strong enough to hold pre-fabricated box sections in place for welding. Using computer aided design (CAD) plasma cutting machines, the fabrication department created the pre-cut and pre-shaped steel. Assembled in the workshop, the units were turned over to complete the welding process before being air-tested to obtain watertight integrity.

During the manufacturing process, the engineering workshop team also had to machine the end flanges, which join the sections together. Requiring extreme precision, these are drilled in pairs – critical when bolting together to achieve a watertight connection. Once completed, the segments were painted with a high-specification coating system. OSJ