Bahrain's Arab Shipbuilding and Repair Yard (Asry) has announced six vessels underwent repair simultaneously on its dual slipways, which is a record for the leading ship and rig repair yard in the Gulf.

This, the yard said, was a sign that its small and medium sized vessel repair business continued to flourish since the opening of its state-of-the-art slipways.

Slipway occupancy at Asry has risen year-on-year since they were opened in 2008, with last year's revenues attributed directly to slipway work increasing 7.24 per cent over the previous year, reported the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.

The contribution to Asry's overall revenue has also seen gains since they were launched.

Last year, the slipways contributed 6.5 per cent of total revenues for the yard.

The six vessels, comprising of four tugs, a hopper dredger and a jack-up rig, matched the previous record for number of vessels accommodated simultaneously on the slipways, the report stated.

They included the Britoil 64, a tug owned by Britoil Offshore Services in Asry for routine drydock hull treatment, crane shaft overhaul and top overhauling of port and starboard engines; the Smit Martinique, a tug owned by Smit Lamnalco having routine drydocking jobs, starboard engine overhaul, and seal renewal of lower gear box; the Al Moayyed 26 and 24, tugs owned by Almoayyed Marine Services in for routine drydocking work; the UDC Blue, a hopper dredger owned by United Dredging Company; and Arabiyah 5 a jack-up rig operated by Saudi Aramco.

The twin slipways, each with a dry berth length of 255 metres, are ideal for accommodating offshore service boats, large tugs and supply vessels. Their vertical curve design also facilitates new building activities at its upper end, said the report.

Vessels up to approximately 15,000 dwt, and with drafts up to 4.5 metres can be easily slipped up under normal daily tidal conditions. The slipways are equipped with all required shore facilities and are serviced by two 80-tonne crawler cranes, it added.-TradeArabia News Service