SCM has long gravitated towards natural gas and they are the world No.1 yard for upograde and retrofit of LNG carrier and conversion.


Sembmarine finds its LNG niche

Land-scarce Singapore may not be well-suited to building large-scale LNG carriers, a segment that South Korean shipbuilders now dominate, but its strategic location at the heart of Asia&rsquo s trading routes means that it remains among the most popular ports of call for these vessels &ndash a situation that creates significant shiprepair opportunities for the island nation.

A key beneficiary is SembCorp Marine, whose Admiralty yard, previously known as Sembawang Shipyard, has cemented its position as world number one for LNG carrier repairs by vessel volume, according to  Ship and Offshore Repair Journal. Admiralty repaired and upgraded 33 LNG carriers in 2014.

Sembmarine&rsquo s client list includes LNG heavy-hitters such as BP, BG and Exmar Shipmanagement. However, it is likely to expand as more LNG owners and operators set up base in Singapore, which is positioning itself to become the top Asia-Pacific LNG trading hub.

Like South Korea, Singapore is keen to encourage the use of LNG as bunker fuel. Supporting this strategic thrust, Singapore&rsquo s Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) has extended to vessel owners US$2 million towards investment in LNG-fuelled ships, and is willing to fund up to two vessels per eligible owner or six vessels in all from three distinct owners.

However, unlike the shipyards of South Korea, Sembmarine has set its sights on repair and conversion rather than newbuildings.

With plans to expand further, having already launched a second development phase at the new Tuas Boulevard yard, Sembmarine is well-positioned to capture growing demand for repair and conversion work as the global LNG-carrier fleet expands.

Phase two of its development will add two drydocks, each measuring 255m by 52m and with 150,000 dwt of holding capacity.  Sembmarine aims to complete the marine works for this phase in the first quarter of 2017.

Tuas Boulevard is already home to a 412m-long drydock that Sembmarine claims is the longest and deepest in Asia for shiprepair.

Construction of large-scale LNG carriers may be off the table at the moment, but Sembmarine expects to continue to improve its track record in floating storage and offloading units mainly for crude production and in FLNG conversions and module fabrication and assembly for onshore LNG plants.