Abu Dhabi – Mubasher: Quality Management Services (QMS) and Zakher Marine International (ZMI) announced that the first of three offshore barges built under the supervision of ZMI in China was delivered.
Head of the Barges Department at ZMI Captain Ron McGuire stated that the delivered barge is considered one of the biggest in the Middle East and can also operate in Europe and the North Sea.
“We have designed and built the most sophisticated and advanced barge … constructed in China at a cost of $350 million (AED 1.2 billion), … considered the most advanced in the market today in terms of size and technology, specifically in the MENA region,” executive director of ZMI Ali El Ali said in a statement.
The barges will carry out services ranging from drilling support to maintenance work, as the first one arrived in Abu Dhabi last week.
The delivered unit took three years to construct, while the second barge is expected to be sent to the North Sea close to the Netherlands and the UK to operate in the construction field of wind turbines and offshore oil and gas fields, according to ZMI’s general manager Musadaq Al Yacoub.
He noted that by the end of 2018, five other barges more adapted to the Middle East’s weather and operational requirements will be built in China.
