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$3-Million Drillship Planned By New Anglo-American Firm Ben-ODECO, a newly created British-ibased offshore drilling com- pany, represents an important breakthrough by United Kingdom interests into a field dominated 'by American companies. This Anglo-American partner- ship is between Ben Line Steamers of Edinburgh and Offshore Drill- ing and Explorations (ODECO) of New Orleans, La., one of the world's most experienced offshore drilling concerns. Negotiations are in the final stage for Ben-ODECO to place a $38.4-million contract with the low- er Clyde shipbuilders, Scott Lith- gow, for a dynamically positioning drillship which will be owned and operated by the new company. Ben-ODECO will come into ex- istence as the owner and operator of the jackup rig Ocean Tide, built on the Clyde in 1971, and now working .in the North Sea. This will provide facilities for staff and man- agement training. $34-Million Award Ups Burrard-Yarrows Backlog To $70 Million With the recent award of a $34- million contract from the British Columbia government for construc- tion of two large passenger-car ferries, the Burrard-Yarrows Group shipyards have more than $70- million contracted in new ships on the building iberths and on the or- der books. It's a boom time for the yards— Burrard Dry Dock Company in North Vancouver, B.C., and Yar- rows Limited in Victoria—which have seen some lean periods in the last decade. The turnaround, at least in part, reflects a new policy instituted by the new owners, Cornat Industries Limited, a Vancouver-based man- agement and financial services company, which bought the ship- yards in 1972. Cornat president Peter Paul Saunders said that: "When Cornat became involved, we felt the ship- yards should build up a stabilized work force, which meant bidding on ships that would give a reason- able profit. "More emphasis has been placed on sales and bidding because we believe that we will make a profit by building more ships, rather than making more on each ship." Vancouver is Canada's busiest port in terms of tonnage handled, and Mr. Saunders said the ship- yards are an essential part of the shipping trade. A big port has to be able to offer the repair and refit services to keep the fleets on the move—and this service also dic- tates a stable work force. And new construction—together with the irregular repair jobs—is the key to maintenance of steady crews of skilled shipyard men. New work under way or on the order books includes: Yarrows is building a 126-foot triple-screw coastal tug, and Yar- rows and Burrard are each building one 210-foot cargo barge for North- ern Transportation Company oper- ations in Hudson Bay. The con- tract is worth $5.25 million. Yarrows is building two 95-foot tugs for use by the Canadian Navy on the West Coast under a $5.55- million contract. Also under way at Yarrows is the $7.9-million log carrier for Kingcome Navigation, a 420-foot vessel that is unique in its class. It will not only be self-loading and self-dumping, but will also be self- propelled. At Burrard, two self-propelled railcar transporters are being built for Incan Ships Limited at a total contract price of about $11 million. The ships are basically the same at about 382 feet in length. One will see service on the Great Lakes and the other in the lower St. Lawrence River. Also at Burrard, a $4.5-million 202-foot oceanographic research vessel for Cayman Island Vessels Ltd. is nearing completion, and five large dump barges are being built under a $2.25-million contract for Northwestern Dredging Co. Ltd. for use in the Arctic and the Mac- kenzie River Delta. When you're developing a totally new technology you need pros not prose: THE TRI CEPS TEAM A consortium of experience in problem-solving 8 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News
