Busy Year for Kiewit Offshore - Marystown

By: Bob Power

Activity at the Kiewit Offshore Services (KOS) fabrication facility in Marystown, Newfoundland picked up significantly during the second quarter as new vessel construction, which began late last year, moved into full swing and refit work began on the semi submersible drill rig Henry Goodrich. The Goodrich, owned by Transocean Ltd the world's largest offshore drilling contractor and the leading provider of drilling management services worldwide, is currently on a three-year shared charter arrangement with Husky Energy, Suncor Energy and StatoilHydro Canada. The rig will operate offshore Newfoundland, Canada, for a period of two to two and a half years with a planned start-up this summer. The Henry Goodrich is currently on a long-term charter with StatoilHydro. The rig-sharing agreement provides the three companies with the necessary drilling capacity for their exploration and production drilling programs. The rig is currently dockside at the Kiewit Offshore Services Cow Head fabrication facility in Marystown, NL where it is undergoing a (SPS) Special Periodic Survey. This SPS is a mandatory five-year inspection, maintenance program and certification, which is required to permit the rig to continue operating in Canadian waters. The Goodrich is a 25-year-old rig launched in 1985 and has frequented east coast waters for the last two decades. The rig has been used extensively for deep water drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and Offshore Newfoundland and Labrador. Up to 150 KOS employees are actively engaged in the rig maintenance project, which was expected to take about two months to complete.

Besides this rig retrofit service work KOS is also heavily involved in new vessel construction valued at approximately $40 million. The yard is building two new medium-sized vessels. These boats being built by Peter Kiewit Sons Co. at its Marystown facility will have roll-on, roll-off capabilities and will be used in the inter-provincial ferry fleet. Each ferry will measure 42 metres in length and accommodate 16 cars and 80 passengers. The project expected to create approximately 300,000 person hours of employment and will contribute to the overall economic growth of the Marystown area.

Glynn Smith, facilities manager at KOS in Marystown, said both projects employ up to 400 people and involve all trades at the yard. The ferry construction program is part of the provincial government’s vessel replacement strategy. Minister of Transportation and Works Dianne Whalen confirmed that one of the new ferries will be deployed to St. Brendan’s on the province’s northeast coast, while the second will be utilized on the Long Island-Little Bay Islands service. Both vessels are scheduled for completion later this year. These new ferries represent the first ships built in Marystown since 1999, when two tugs were constructed for the Newfoundland Transshipment Terminal at Whiffen Head in Placentia Bay.

Minister Whalen says the province has initiated the process to build two additional ferries. The transportation department has placed an advanced order for propulsion systems valued at approximately $2 million for a third medium-sized ferry and has also issued an expression of interest to engage a consultant to design a fourth, large-sized ferry. The province has approached the Ottawa for financial assistance as the vessel replacement strategy moves forward.

Meanwhile, Peter Kiewit Son Co (PKS) is actively pursuing the possibility of expanding its Marystown facility to accommodate construction and refit of much larger vessels. Frank Smith, Business Development Manager with PKS, said the company has been weighing the possibility of establishing a dry dock in Marystown for some time. Such a dry dock could accommodate super tankers, naval vessels and FPSO’s such as the Husky SeaRose Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessel, which underwent its topsides installation and commissioning in Marystown.

The proposed dry-dock would be about 360 metres long by 50 metres wide. A channel would be blasted and cut in the rock formation on Spanish Room Point. The dock would consist of a rectangular basin dug into the shore of Mortier Bay and be provided with a removable enclosure wall or gate on the side toward the water. This large dock in the form of a basin, from which the water may be emptied, could be used for building or repairing a ship below its water line. Earlier this year the Marystown Town Council initiated a movement to begin a marketing study to determine the potential repair traffic for a graving dock based on the volume and destinations of large vessels passing close to the Mortier Bay facility. Crandell Dry Dock Engineers Inc. of Chelsea, Massachusetts, U.S.A. was awarded a contract for $25,000 to submit a proposal for consultation, design concepts and engineering services. Another company, Lengkeek Vessel Engineering, which has offices in Halifax and St. John’s, was awarded a $49,849 contract to complete a market analysis. A partnership between the Town of Marystown, Kiewit Offshore Services and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), could see a third contract and possibly fourth for geotechnical engineering being awarded as well. These contracts would involve selected drilling sites for rock cores to determine the type of rock located in the site of the proposed graving dock in Spanish Room. It would also involve an independent review of the concept and initial concept design for verification. This additional infrastructure, which would include an assembly hall and a dry dock, is considered a necessity for Kiewit to attract larger shipbuilding projects, particularly if the company wants to successfully cash in on the federal government’s proposed ship construction and repair plan estimated to be worth approximately $40 billion over the next two decades.