Peter Uzoho
Samsung Heavy Industries Nigeria (SHIN) Limited has reaffirmed its commitment to continue its operations in Nigeria by setting another record in offshore technology through business diversification, particularly in the conversion, repair and upgrade of crude oil carriers to Floating Storage Units ( FSU). ultra large and offshore vessels.
Since 2021, SHIN provides a suitable and alternative location offering various maritime services such as cargo, container logistics, ship repair and conversion, FPSO upgrades, etc. Just last week, a 330-meter Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC), an international vessel used to export crude oil, moored at the SHI-MCI shipyard in Lagos for the first time.
SHIN senior officials in the Manufacturing and Integration Shipyard told the journalists that Samsung Heavy Industries Nigeria has moored the VLCC to its quay wall in the shipyard to carry out the ship repair and modernization work.
VLCC, also known as the “supertanker” because of its enormous deadweight capacity, can transport huge quantities of crude oil across the oceans to the international market. The berthing and repair work being carried out on the VLCC at the SHI-MCI shipyard is significant in that it is the first time such work has been carried out in the Port of Lagos.
With this development, prospective clients in other parts of Africa and Europe performing services such as ship repairs, maintenance and modernization in the Gulf of Mexico, West Africa, Dubai and Singapore will henceforth find Nigeria as an attractive and more cost-effective location in the country for such works.
According to SHIN Managing Director Mr. Jongseok Kim, Nigeria has a strong geographic advantage that will enable the country to become the center for various maritime services such as ship repair and conversion and modernization.
Indeed, due to its strategic coastal location, Nigeria is the hub of West African shipping activity with over 3,000 merchant vessels ranging from 19,000 to 200,000 GT sailing in and out of the country for various marine activities. In addition, after the energy transition and the Ukraine-Russia crisis, there is a growing demand worldwide for conversion and modification work on large ships and FPSO units.
Although Nigeria has its location advantage, such work could not be carried out in Nigeria as there is no adequate ship repair or ship building facility in Nigeria that could accommodate ships in the 19,000 to 200,000 GT range.
However, with Samsung’s business diversification at its shipyard, such work can now be carried out in Nigeria.
Strategically located in the Tarkwa Bay Free Trade Zone, Lagos SHI-MCI Shipyard is the only manufacturing and integration facility in Africa built on a 121,000m2 landmass. The shipyard represents an investment by SHIN of over $300 million for the local fabrication and integration of Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) units and other offshore vessels in Nigeria. The shipyard has the capacity to accommodate and carry out the fabrication, maintenance, refurbishment and modification work on ultra-large vessels with high added value due to the shipyard’s state-of-the-art facilities and its robust integration and assembly purpose – construction of a quay wall over 502 m long meters, a water depth of 12.5 and a carrying capacity of over 3,000 tons.
The shipyard also offers optimal proximity to the main shipping channels to and from Nigeria, thanks to its strategic location, which allows for a quick and convenient point of entry. This makes the facility the destination of choice for international ships.
“The SHI-MCI shipyard was built by Samsung in Lagos to make Nigeria the center of FPSO manufacturing and integration in Africa. But the beauty of our shipyard is that it is highly scalable, meaning that it is not only optimized for world-class, ultra-large and value-added projects, but is also designed to service and maintain vessels of all sizes.’ explained Kim.
In fact, SHIN broke the Nigerian content development record in the oil and gas industry when it used the shipyard to fabricate and integrate the Egina FPSO on-site, the first time such work had been undertaken in Africa. As the first project launched after Nigeria’s Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act (NOGICD) came into force in 2010, Egina FPSO took Nigerian content to record levels.
With the successful completion of the repair work on the VLCC, SHIN has set a new record in its efforts to make Nigeria the hub of offshore technology in Africa, particularly in FPSO vessel integration and manufacturing, ship repairs and FPSO conversions.
SHIN’s efforts in this direction have resulted in the development of local capacity and skills, the creation of employment opportunities, and the increase in the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
According to SHIN senior officials, the hosting and maintenance of the VLCC was the fourth major project handled by the SHI-MCI shipyard after the Egina FPSO sailed to the deep offshore oil field in August 2018.
The docking of an international ship named “PACIFIC RUBY” was the second project after Egina. The dimensions of the ship are 249.869 meters in length, 43.8 meters in width, 21.2 meters in depth and 13.6 meters in draft. The project prior to VLCC involved carrying out repair work on Floating Storage Unit (FSU) vessels for the local customer.
Since then, SHIN has specialized in container terminals and logistics operations for international and local customers such as COSCO. The empty container terminal business is also an alternative source of income during the “off-season” of offshore projects while creating more employment opportunities for Nigerians.
The container terminal includes the berthing of barges at the quay wall SHI-MCI FZE for unloading empty containers; Storage of empties at SHI-MCI FZE berth; and the docking of feeder ships at the quay to load the empty containers back onto the ships for shipment.
Also due to its strategic location and capacities, the shipyard is expected to bring in other valuable projects such as installation of mooring lines and skids, ship modernizations and manufacturing of various modular works.
