Astican enjoys another buoyant year

Building on a trend of high activity in recent years, Astican – the Canary Islands-based ship repair specialist – has proved that 2007 has been just as successful

Canary Islands-based shipyard Astican has enjoyed an unprecedented level of work during the last 12 months. In total, the yard had, at the time of writing, repaired 84 vessels, with 71 of them being docked on its Syncrolift system. “Astican is in the midst of one of the most dynamic and fruitful periods of its history in terms of activity. This encouraging reality is following the good performance of 2006,” said the yard.

Astican is a privately-owned repair yard with a staff of around 200 plus subcontractors, and whose main activity is the repair, maintenance and conversion of all types of vessel. The company, which was founded in 1973, became fully operative in 1976 and was privatised in 1989.

Astican is located in the port of Las Palmas (Gran Canaria island), off the north west coast of Africa and at the crossroads of the Atlantic, linking Europe, Africa and the Americas. Its geographical situation – with an average temperature of 21.3ºC all year round and with very low rainfall levels – gives ideal conditions for most repair tasks.

Among a wide range of repair projects carried out recently, ones worth noting include those involving:
 

• the 112m Portuguese roro ferry Lobo Marinho, which operates in the Madeira Islands for Porto Santo Line, was drydocked to undergo extensive steel, piping and machinery repairs, as well as hull treatment
 

• the Norwegian passenger ship Nordnorge was drydocked for its annual survey and other repairs. This vessel follows its sister, Nordkapp, which was repaired by the yard last year. These are both Hurtigruten ships that were involved in Antarctic summer expeditions
 

• Fred Olsen’s fast ferries, the 96m Incat-built Bencomo Express and the 127m Austal-built trimaran Benchijigua Express – which both operate in the Canary Islands – passed their annual surveys at the yard, and Benchijigua Express also underwent a propulsion system overhaul.

European ferry company Fred Olsen SA is no stranger to the yard, having run ferries around the Canary Islands for a number of years. In recent times, Astican has carried out repair and maintenance projects on board other fast ferries including the 5,191gt Bonanza Express, and the company’s conventional ferries: the 2,699gt Bajamar, the 9,735gt Bañaderos, the 6,387gt Barlovento, the 2,699gt Benchijigua, the 681gt Betancuria and the 2,453gt Buganvilla.

Other familiar faces at the yard are Spanish operators Trasmediterranea and Naviera Armas. Both have booked conventional ferries into the yard for repairs and annual maintenance work.

Along with its ferry contracts the yard has also enjoyed orders from other sectors including extensive repair and maintenance work carried out on the GSF rig 140 in May this year (2007).

In 2007 Astican signed an agreement with Delta Marine, which took over the agency from April. Delta Marine now represents the yard in Norway, Finland and the Baltic countries.

The yard’s facilities include a 175m-long Syncrolift platform, capable of accommodating vessels up to 36,000 dwt. This is linked to seven fully-serviced docking positions, which allow for up to ten medium-sized vessels to be worked on at the same time. Fully-equipped workshops are available for mechanical repairs and maintenance tasks, served by overhead cranes with lifting capacities of up to 10 tonnes; mobile cranes with capacities of up to 150 tonnes are also on hand. A repair berth with drafts from 8m to 12m is also available, together and a waste treatment unit.

Astican highlights the following services which it can offer: internal and external blasting and coating; paint application and special treatment of cargo tanks and holds; steel plate and profile renewal using automatic welding machinery for all materials; overhauling and repairing of main and auxiliary engines, boilers and turbochargers; repairs to all mechanical equipment; propeller repairs, including dimension modifications; overhauling, maintenance, installation supply and repair of hydraulic and pneumatic systems; and piping renewal. There is also a Lips service station in the shipyard for repair and maintenance of Wärtsilä waterjets.

“Astican’s modern installations, particularly its platform docking system, and a skilled workforce, respond to the quality and service that shipowners demand, according to the strictest international standards,” the company says.

Quality standards at the yard are certified by Lloyd´s Register Quality Assurance as per ISO 9002 since 1994, and the company has also been awarded with the NATO AQAP 120 quality certificate. FT