WNAM Monitoring: Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company CJSC (ASCO) and Baku Shipyard LLC have signed an agreement on the construction of new ships that will serve oil and gas production in the sea. A total of 7 new ships will be built, 3 of which will be passenger ships and 4 will be diving ships.
Following the Strategic Development Plan of Shipping covering the years 2022-2030, adopted by the Supervisory Board of ASCO, attention is paid to improving the quality of marine transport services provided in the oil and gas industry, including the renewal of the fleet.
In the information released by the ASCO, it is stated that with the support of SOCAR, important steps were taken before, various types of ships intended for offshore oil and gas production were purchased and successfully put into operation. As a continuation of the successful cooperation with SOCAR, it was decided to build a total of 7 new ships, including 3 passenger ships and 4 diving ships. According to the agreement, the construction of these ships will be carried out at the Baku Shipyard.
A ceremony was held to sign the relevant contract between the Chairman of the Board of ASCO Rauf Valiyev and the Chairman of the Board of Baku Shipyard Elshad Nuriyev on the construction of 4 of those ships.
According to the contract, Baku Shipyard will build and deliver 3 50-passenger capacity boats and 1 diving vessel with a hybrid engine designed to work at a depth of 60 meters, according to ASCO’s order, within 18-24 months.
It was stated at the signing ceremony that the ships to be built per the requirements of international standards will have wide technical capabilities and will play an important role in further improving the quality of sea transport services in the field of oil and gas production of Azerbaijan.
It was also emphasized at the event that the passenger ships to be built were designed by a leading design company. The construction of the diving vessel will be carried out based on the project presented by “ASCO Engineering” LLC, and this ship will be the first diving vessel with a hybrid engine floating in the Caspian Sea. This ship, which will be built per the environmental policy of ASCO, as well as the requirements of the International Maritime Organization and a number of other classification societies regarding the reduction of emissions, will also make an important contribution to the “Year of Solidarity for the Green World” announced by President Ilham Aliyev.
It was added that in addition to the representatives of ASCO, Baku Shipyard, SOCAR, two excellent students of the 4th year of the Azerbaijan State Maritime Academy studying shipbuilding and ship repair engineering took part in the contract signing ceremony. Before the event, ASCO chairman Rauf Valiyev received the students and talked with them about the projects implemented in our country in the field of shipping and the upcoming goals. At the meeting, the chairman gave recommendations to the future specialists to master their specialties well and wished them success.
