A major theme at SMM 2010

SMM 2010 – 24th shipbuilding international trade fair
at the Hamburg Fair site
from 7 to 10 September 2010

The offshore market is showing stable growth worldwide. So offshore will take up more space than in previous years at SMM 2010, with many companies presenting technologies and products from the offshore sector. All in all there will be some 2,000 exhibitors from all continents at the leading international shipbuilding, machinery and marine technology international trade fair, to be held in Hamburg from 7 to 10 September 2010. There will be a special two-day workshop run by Hamburg Messe in the course of SMM 2010, dedicated to the offshore sectors oil and gas, wind energy and ocean engineering.

Last year, the offshore market proved to be a lot more robust than ship building. It is a segment with outstanding perspectives, as shown by the market analyses from Douglas-Westwood. For the next five years, the experts are predicting continuous growth in offshore operations and maintenance, with worldwide investments of some USD 330 billion. The deepwater oil production sector including repair and maintenance will do better than other sectors, with growth of more than 10% by 2015, according to information from Thom Payne, a leading analyst at Douglas-Westwood.

Many of the exhibitors at SMM 2010 were quick to recognise the opportunities available offshore in the oil and gas production sector and in wind power, and are now earning a large proportion of their revenues in this segment. The offshore sector enables the shipyards and equipment suppliers to compensate to some degree for the weakness of demand in global shipbuilding. Blohm + Voss Repair, a subsidiary of TKMS, has gained profile in this field of business by conversion of the Kraka, a cable laying vessel, to a sophisticated offshore supply vessel.
“Siemens Marine Solutions earns about 30% of its global revenues in the offshore sector,” says Eberhard Becker, head of marine business at Siemens. The Group supplies marine diesel-electric propulsion systems, e.g. recently for the offshore vessel “Skandi Acergy”, and with automation, electronics, communications and safety solutions, and water treatment plant for various oil drilling rigs and floating production, storage and offloading vessels (FPSOs), etc.
Vincenzo Spitaleri, CEO of GEA Westfalia Separator, sees no great differences here – “There are so many synergies between shipbuilding and offshore. Firstly, the markets overlap – we are sometimes working with the same customers. And secondly, the technology for offshore and ship technology is comparable.” GEA Westfalia Separator recently received large orders for centrifugal systems for oil/water separation, for drilling ships, and for the conversion of two supertankers to FPSOs.
Schottel likewise sees “large-scale, sustainable growth potential in the offshore vessel market.” The offshore market has developed into “stable additional core business”. The company did a large proportion of its total business with special propulsion systems for platform supply vessels (PSVs), offshore support vessels (OSVs), anchor handling tug supply vessels (AHTS), jack-up platforms and other special-purpose ships.
Electronics suppliers such as SAM Electronics, an L-3 Communications company, are likewise very much in demand in the offshore sector. SAM supplies offshore vessels with integrated navigation systems and diesel-electric propulsion systems, for example to Bharati Shipyard, India. The company also supplies automation, communication and dynamic positioning systems.
HATLAPA, a marine equipment company based in North Germany, realises one third of its sales volume in the offshore market, a large proportion of this in the offshore wind power sector. For example it equipped “Windlift I”, a highly sophisticated special-purpose vessel for the construction of wind power systems at sea, with automated mooring winches.
The opportunities for marine equipment suppliers in the offshore wind farm sector will continue to be good in the future. Douglas-Westwood’s “World Offshore Wind Report 2009-2013”, published last year, forecasts capital expenditure of €21.6 billion for offshore facilities in the period up to 2013.
In Europe, the EU Directives provide for renewables to deliver a minimum of 20% of energy by 2020. That means a lot of wind power, which requires special-purpose ships for construction and repair of offshore wind turbines.

SMM 2010 will be held at the Hamburg Fair site from 7 to 10 September 2010. There will be some 2,000 exhibitors from more than 50 nations, presenting the latest developments in all areas of the maritime industry. This leading trade fair of the global shipbuilding industry is expected to attract more than 50,000 trade visitors from over 100 countries. Info: www.smm-hamburg.com.

On the occasion of SMM 2010, the first global maritime environmental congress (gmec) will be held on 7 and 8 September 2010. This conference brings together more than 700 high-ranking representatives from industry, government, academia, navies and environment protection organisations, to elaborate and present practical solutions for environmentally sound, sustainable shipping. Info: www.gmec-hamburg.com.

(last Update: 08.03.10)