Crowley to provide support offshore Sakhalin Island

Company News - March 31, 2006

Crowley Maritime Corporation’s Marine Services unit has announced the deployment of Crowley Alliance, the company’s first Russian flagged and crewed vessel serving the offshore oil industry near Sakhalin Island, Russia.

The vessel is owned and operated by Crowley Sakhalin LLC, a Crowley subsidiary formed and incorporated in Sakhalin State, Russia.

The subsidiary, which is part of the corporation’s marine services division, offers marine and shore-side logistics and transportation services to the energy and construction industries in the region.

In the autumn of 2005, Crowley entered into a contract with Exxon Neftegas Limited (ENL) to provide an ice strengthened anchor handling tug supply vessel for the ORLAN, an 80,000 tonne offshore production and drilling platform. To provide this service on a long-term basis, ENL required the vessel to be flagged under the Russian Federation and crewed by Russian Nationals.

Crowley is no stranger to the ORLAN. The company towed the ORLAN from its original location off Alaska’s north slope to Sovetskaya Gavan, Russia in 2001; then from Sov Govan to Ulsan, Korea in 2004, and finally from Ulsan to offshore Sakhalin Island in the summer of 2005.

Alliance, which Crowley purchased from Maersk Supply Service, is a UT 708 design 12,000bhp AHTS with Lloyds Ice Class 1A Super.

The vessel has the hull strength and power to break first year ice up to 1m (39in) thick, and during the most severe part of the Sakhalin winters will follow an icebreaker to the ORLAN location.

In addition, Alliance can provide ocean towing, anchor handling, and general supply duties for ENL’s offshore projects and will help extend their operating season due to its capability to contend with early winter and late spring ice.