ASRY’S planned floating dock is likely to be built in China, the company’s CEO Chris Potter has said.

About whether tenders had been issued, Potter said: “The intention is to have the dock operational by 2016, however the process deadlines for that timetable have not been confirmed yet.” He added that the average timeframe for a project of that nature is 12 months.

However, he said, Asry’s plans for a new floating dock are still in the assessment and evaluation phase. But with part of the five-year plan calling for an increase in dock capacity, this will most likely be done by commissioning the construction of a new floating dock. The exact details of the dock are also not finalised but it would most likely have Suezmax dimensions, approximately 330 m long, with an inside breadth of 56 m and approximately 50,000 tonnes lifting capacity. This would make it the second largest dock in Asry’s portfolio, increase docking flexibility and allow larger and longer repair scopes to be actively sought. 

“The new dock would strongly complement the current facilities, as it would mean greater flexibility in docking schedules, translating into higher capacity and efficiency numbers for all other facilities,” he said.

Asked what increase in revenues he expected from having the new facility, Potter replied: “The exact revenue increase would depend on several factors including the market level at the time of operation, and actual occupancy of the dock – but looking at current occupancy rates, we can optimistically predict that the new dock would vary from 80 to 90 per cent occupancy.”

Asry posted the highest first quarter revenues in the company’s history. With revenues of $54 million, the yard’s Q1 2013 revenues have surpassed all previous first quarter revenues since its inception in 1977. The surge is the latest in a momentum shift that has seen the yard’s business accelerate away from the downturn of recent years, defying market forces and leaving other regional yards in its wake. The record revenues are nearly equally derived from the two main income sectors in the region: ship repair, which accounts for 52 per cent of the revenue, and offshore repair, which accounts for 48 per cent.

“2013 is currently shaping up to continue along our revenue growth curve of recent years. Therefore we hope to see both an increase in the number of vessels repaired, as well as the average spend per contract. Our 2013 targets are ambitious and optimistic,” Potter said.