Grandweld, a UAE-based shipbuilding, ship repair and conversion specialist, part of the GMMOS Group, has been awarded the contract for building one new vessel for CGGVeritas Services of France.

The 25.9m work boat is another international order for the aluminium ship building division of Grandweld. Grandweld General Manager Jamal Abki said: "We had very strong competition during the bidding process, however our demonstrated experience, quality and short delivery time gave Grandweld the edge to win this prestigious contract."

The vessel is customized and designed for the owner's requirements and is powered by two SCANIA diesel engines driving folding hydraulic thrusters installed at the transom. This allows for shallow water operations during research missions.

The CGG vessel will join other international orders delivered by Grandweld such as Bourbon's order for four 100t bollard pull tug boats and a fifth 50.3m aluminium FSIV crew boat. Grandweld is also building for major local players such as Stanford Marine, (six 41m aluminium crew boats), and Sharaf Shipping, (two 24m aluminium crewboats).

From its Dubai-based Al Jadaf shipyard, Grandweld has built a strong reputation for delivering offshore vessels with high quality, on budget and on time. The new vessel is scheduled for delivery in the third quarter of 2009.

Tags: CGGVeritas, Grandweld