Oversight supervision of MR tankers construction

Client Background

• A private equity firm that specialises in purchasing assets with various strategies to profitably turn them around in partnership with new or existing management. It built six MR tankers at SPP Shipbuilding. These vessels were supervised by the charterers.
• The investor contacted Drewry to act as oversight supervisor for the construction of MR tankers.
• The investor was seeking a smooth construction process, on time delivery and high build quality. The client invited Drewry oversee the entire construction process and two year build period.

Client Objectives

• To assist the investor in monitoring the six vessel newbuild programme, Drewry was required to observe and check processes at various stages of the build and provide an independent report at pre-defined intervals.
• To inspect each newbuild at least 4 times: pre-launch (shop trials), at launch, sea trials and on delivery.
• To oversee the entire construction process and identify/report any problems in a timely fashion.
• To review regular reports received from the yard and onsite supervisors.

Drewry Approach

• The oversight supervision of construction of the six MR tankers took place at SPP Shipbuilding, located at Sacheon in South Korea;
• The technical director of Drewry conducted site visits every six weeks, or when it was required as the construction schedule of vessels changes from time to time, until all six vessels were delivered;
• After each site visit, at least one technical supervision report was produced describing the status of vessel, construction progress, tests carried out and any issues discovered;
• The project lasted over two years. In total, 12 visits were made to SPP Shipbuilding and 13 reports were submitted to the client. Many issues were identified and rectified in time with Drewry’s supervision.

Result Achieved

• Drewry successfully finished oversight supervision of the six tankers, and submitted 13 supervision reports in total. The client was impressed with Drewry’s professionalism and high quality of services provided.