Topaz subsidiary signs contract with Vopak for underwater services

The contract has been signed for a period of one year until April 2010. Over the period of the contract Topaz will provide a team of qualified and experienced divers for the pre-berthing inspections.

The divers will carry out a detailed inspection of the floating and submarine hose string and all mooring accessories and will also provide other services until the berthing is completed.

Fujairah, situated on the Gulf of Oman near the mouth of the Gulf, has been the base for Topaz's underwater services in the Middle East since 1981. Topaz's fully equipped team of divers can join vessels and installations at short notice anywhere in the Gulf of Oman or in the Arabian Gulf to carry out all types of underwater work.

Topaz offers a wide range of underwater services like underwater hull cleaning of vessels, propeller polishing, wet docking and reporting, blanking of intakes and outlets, inspection and survey, underwater wet welding, anchor search and recovery from sea bed and salvage and wreck removal. Its subsidiary Nico is certified to carry out underwater surveys by all leading classification societies such as ABS, Lloyd's, NKK, BV, Germanischer Lloyd and DNV.

In support of its diving operations, Topaz has purpose-built a high speed catamaran aluminium workboat 'Nemo', a diving support vessel utilized to carry out daily routine diving operations. The diving team in Fujairah consists of 25 experienced and qualified personnel who are trained according to the International Marine Contractors Association standards.

This year the team has recovered 14 lost anchors and chains, some of them weighing 140 tons, from the depth of between 94 to 135 Meters with successful delivery back to the owners.