Duqm dry-dock set to be integrated ship repair, fabrication services hub

State-owned Oman Dry-dock Company's (ODC) ship repair yard, under construction at the Port of Duqm on the Wusta coast, will provide more than just vessel maintenance and repair services. The world-class facility, scheduled to come into operation next March, will also be fully equipped to deliver a broad array of specialist heavy engineering services covering, among other things, the fabrication of offshore structures and the conversion of mammoth ships into floating storage vessels.
Additionally, as a fully integrated ship repair services hub -- with ambitions to emerge as the dry-dock of choice in the Middle East -- ODC will also be equipped for bunkering, refuelling, slops and sludge treatment, major steel outfitting, machinery overhaul and upgrade, and all kinds of blasting and painting works.
Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME), one of the world's biggest shipbuilders, is ODC's strategic partner in the development and operation of the yard. Oman's Ministry of Transport and Communications is also playing a pivotal role in the establishment of the facility.
At the heart of the giant complex is a pair of graving docks each boasting a world-scale 410-metres length. The graving docks will be equipped to accommodate ships of all sizes, including Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs), Ultra Large Crude Carriers (ULCCs), fourth and fifth generation container ships, and other vessels of a maximum capacity of 600,000 DWT.
Further, the yard will also have the engineering wherewithal to undertake repairs to a wide range of offshore structures and specialist vessels, including offshore rigs, derrick barges, dredgers, pipe-laying barges, and so on. With 2.8 kilometres of alongside berthing, the yard will be able to accommodate all sizes of vessels targeted for repair or conversion work. Underscoring its diverse capabilities, the ODC facility will also be equipped to undertake conversions of VLCCs into Floating Storage and Offloading (FSO) vessels as well as Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels. An FPSO is a floating vessel used by the offshore industry for the processing and storage of oil and gas. FPSOs can be a conversion of an oil tanker or can be a vessel built specially for the application. A vessel used to store oil only is referred to as an FSO.
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Besides, the dry-dock's portfolio of specialist services includes the fabrication of offshore structures such as jackets, top-side modules, sub-sea pipeline manifolds, offshore accommodation barges, and so on. Fabrication of steel structures, such as long-span steel bridges, high-rise building structures, and so on, is also part of ODC's offerings.
To cater to the ship repair and dry-docking requirements of the local and regional markets, ODC is also planning to invest in a floating dock over the next several years. The floating dock will serve fishing trawlers, passenger and cargo ferries, naval craft, and all kinds of government-owned ships.
Importantly, ODC's ship repair yard will boast state-of-the-art workshops, machinery and equipment.
Computer numerically controlled (CNC) cutting machinery, plasma cutters, bending machine, hull fabrication shops, outfitting shops, jib cranes, and heavy lift gear, will be part of the yard's high-tech and comprehensive ship repair paraphernalia.