Offshore Support

June 28, 2012 (LBO) - Sri Lankan shipbuilder Colombo Dockyard has launched the hull of a new supply vessel it is building for a Singapore customer supplying the growing global offshore oil and gas industry. Greatship Global Offshore Services is a Singapore incorporated subsidiary of Greatship (India) Limited, part of the Great Eastern Shipping group which has a fleet of tugs and supply vessels working in offshore oil and gas fields.

Demand for platform support vessels is growing with increasing oil and gas exploration and production in offshore deep waters.

Greatship Rachna is the second of a series of three Multipurpose Platform Supply Vessels being built for Greatship Global Offshore Services of Singapore, Colombo Dockyard said.

"The vessel will now proceed to the next step in the shipbuilding process which is outfitting, in the areas of deck, accommodation, machinery, piping, electrical and painting," a statement said.

Colombo Dockyard, in which Japan's Onomichi Dockyard Company has a majority stake, said the vessel will be delivered during the third quarter of 2012 after testing, commissioning and sea trials.

The main role of the vessel, which is designed to have accommodation for 50