• Canary Islands and Norway seek to consolidate and deepen their relations

    On February 6th, the President of the Government of the Canary Islands Fernando Clavijo and the Minister of Economy, Industry, Trade and Knowledge, Pedro Ortega, held a working meeting with the Norwegian ambassador to Spain, Helge Skaara, to analyse the commercial, economic and social ties between the Canary archipelago and the Nordic country.

    It should be noted that Norway and the Canary Islands maintain a historical relationship in different areas, where the tourism was the forerunner of this relationship. Today, the Norwegian tourist sector in the Canary Islands registers about 400,000 tourists a year (10% of the country’s population), which is reinforced by the existence of direct flights between the two destinations. Also, the Canary Islands has a Norwegian community resident in the islands of about 3,000 Norwegian citizens who mainly live in the south of Gran Canaria.

    The commercial and economic relations between the Canary Islands and Norway are being fruitful, as Norwegian companies consider the Canary Islands as a business platform for West Africa for specific sectors and, on the other hand, an enormous potential in sectors such as tourism, energy Renewable and blue economy. Currently there are 16 Norwegian companies from different sectors and many of them operate under the Special Zone of the Canary Islands regime (ZEC) that offers important tax advantages for these companies.

    In the specific case of Norwegian companies operating in the offshore and oil and gas sectors, both the public administrations of the Canary Islands and the private sector for naval repair and auxiliary services for the extractive industry have joined forces to make the islands, and in particular, the Port of Las Palmas, stand as a strategic hub. This, together with the geographical proximity with the Gulf of Guinea, has aroused the interest of the Norwegian private sector specialized in the provision of technical assistance to this industry.

    This interest has materialized in the implementation of some Norwegian companies that seek alliances with the Canary Islands private sector to generate integration in the local business sector, synergies and mutual benefit. The alliance between Zamakona Yards and the prestigious Norwegian company Coast Center Base (CCB) is a clear example of these alliances. The resulting company CCB ZAMAKONA OFFSHORE SL will invest jointly 20 million euros for the development of a repair centre for oil platforms with a total area that occupies 6,000 square meters in the Port of Las Palmas where the first phase is already executed with the construction of the building that houses the main workshop, offices and storage areas.

    Read More
  • The new slipway Number 4 with a máximum capacity of 5500 Tons

    Since finishing the adaptation work on our slipway Nº 4 of our REPNAVAL Shipyard at the Port of Las Palmas which can service vessels up to 126 M length and 5500 Tons we haven’t stopped working on vessels which we could not accommodate previously with our limited capacity. Thus, recently, we have drydocked the Vessel “Angel” (before, “Caliope”) of 113 M and 3500 Tons and we are now drydocking the pontoon Koca Yusuf of 92 M length and 27.5 M width. All of which means that the effort and investment we have made w justifiable as shown by the enthusiastic reception and demand of our customers for the drydocking of their vessels.

     

    Carro Repnaval

    Read More
  • Swire Pacific Offshore repairs in the Zamakona Yards

    For the past weeks, among the relevant jobs performed at Zamakona Yards in Canary Islands, there was the docking of the Pacific Wyvern.

     

    Pacific Wyvern is 68.9 m long AHTS Vessel that operates on the western coast of Africa. The vessel belongs to Singapore-based company Swire Pacific, that it is one of the leading marine service providers to the oil and gas industry. It operates more than 75 offshore support vessels which include a mix of anchor handling tug supply (AHTS) vessels, platform supply vessels (PSV), ice breaking supply vessels (IBSV), anchor handling tugs (AHT), and seismic survey vessels, and windfarm installation vessels. SPO and its subsidiaries are fully equipped to support a wide range of offshore activities, including drilling, production, exploration, pipe-lay, subsea construction seismic, salvage and environmental response requirements, as well as windfarm installation and support.

     

    The works performed included cleaning, painting, grit blasting of the hull, cathodic protection, reconditioning and repairing the propeller, electrical works, thruster works, main engines general overhaul, rudder works, deck machinery repairs and rescue boat and crane 5 years inspection. Some minor jobs including valves, piping, chain cable, anchors …. were also included.

     

    We´ll keep you informed. Regards.

    Read More
  • Offshore Conference success organized by Zamakona Yards in the Port of Las Palmas

    Zamakona Yards organized a lecture-conference meeting focused on the offshore Oil & Gas Market in West Africa in cooperation with the Naval Repairers Association (RNA) on Monday the 6th of May.

     

    Our Group is aware of the strategic importance of this booming industry has to the port of Las Palmas and the great challenges ship repair industry will face in the coming years. The goal is for the Port of La Luz and Las Palmas to achieve a leading position serving this emerging market.

     

    The presentation was given by Mr. Adolfo Marrodán, Naval Mechanical Engineer with an MBA in Shipping and Ports, who has extensive industry experience and has spent most of his professional work in West Africa.

     

    The event was held in the auditorium of the Port Authority, with the presence of Mr. Luis Ibarra (President of the Port Authority of Las Palmas) and Mr. Borja Garaygordóbil (Deputy Director of Zamakona Yards in the Canary Islands).

     

    The conference was attended by over 70 people from major ship repair companies within the sector in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria.

     

    The program addressed various topics such as: – The history of offshore business – Sector requirements to work as providers of products and services. – General current situation overview of the oil sector today (Upstream, midstream and downstream) and future prospects globally and in Africa. – Main players in the niche offshore upstream sector. – Offshore sector impact on the maritime economy and on upstream. – Analysis of companies involved in the sector – Legal and regulatory aspects.

     

    To finish, we wish to express our gratitude to all participants for their attendance and to Mr. Adolfo Marrodán and Mr. Luis Ibarra for supporting this initiative.

    Read More
  • LAS PALMAS PORT: READY FOR THE FUTURE

    History of Las Palmas Port

     

    Since ancient times the Bay of La Isleta, on the north-east coast of Gran Canaria, had been used by Phoenician and Roman ships as a safe anchorage; but it was not until 1478, the foundation year of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, that regular port activities were to be seen in this harbour. 

     

    As soon as Spain extended its rule over the Canary Islands, Las Palmas became the main support base for maritime expeditions across the oceans. The famous navigator, Christopher Columbus, used the islands as a base for shiprepairs and as his last stop in Europe before sailing to the New World.  (more…)

    Read More