06 March 2008

Dubai: Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB), the Gulf's only specialised naval warship builder, has been awarded the Al Saber project, a multimillion dollar contract to build 12 patrol boats for the UAE Coast Guard.

The 34-metre boats, constructed in composite materials, will have a "mother-daughter" design. The "mother" vessel will have a stern ramp that will accommodate a smaller, high-speed, "daughter" boat that can be launched at sea to enable fast interception.

The patrol boats will be laminated in ADSB's new composite workshop at the company's Musaffah shipyard.

ADSB has begun the second phase of the composite facility with the construction of the outfitting workshop, which will cover 4800 square metres.

Bill Saltzer, ADSB's chief executive, said: "ADSB has been working hard towards securing this contract for some time and are delighted to have been selected as the builder of this new class of patrol boat. We thank the UAE Coast Guard for their co-operation and assistance during these discussions and we look forward to building these vessels through a continuing team approach."

The design for the vessel has been provided by the Coast Guard, which has also supplied the moulds for the hull, main deck and superstructure.

ADSB will build a second set of moulds to enable simultaneous building of multiple vessels (allowing delivery of four-five boats per year once in full production).

Engine

The patrol boats will be powered by twin marine diesel engines driving a conventional propeller and shaft arrangement. The design concept is for a modern heavy duty composite boat that is easy to operate and maintain.

This is the first major contract awarded to ADSB for the new composite facility. ADSB, a public joint stock company, has Dh2.5 billion in orders.

In the past 11 years, ADSB has built more than 100 new vessels in steel, aluminium and composites. The company also performs approximately 175-200 ship repair/refit jobs each year.

ADSB has been working hard towards securing this contract for some time and are delighted to have been selected."

By Staff Reporter

Gulf News 2008. All rights reserved.