Chile’s Asmar to invest in new Syncrolift shiplift and transfer system

Chile’s leading ship repairer Asmar (Astilleros y Maestranzas de la Armada) is to embark on a major facilities expansion programme at its largest shipyard in the country, located in the Bay of Concepcion, Talcahuano.

Asmar has awarded Norway’s Syncrolift AS the tender for the basic engineering of a 5,000 tonne lift capacity shiplift and transfer system. Syncrolift’s engineering design scope for this shiplift and transfer system is valued at USD 5 million and will be completed by the end of 2024.

Meanwhile, Dutch civil and marine engineering consultancy Royal Haskoning DHV will conduct a separate engineering scope for the new facilities civil and marine works in the harbour area as part of consortium with Syncrolift. Syncrolift’s tender award includes an option for a phase two equipment delivery of a shiplift and transfer system, valued at approximately USD 24 million and is subject to a final investment decision by state-owned Asmar.

“This is a substantial project that is part of Asmar’s master development plan for its Talcahuano shipyard, which considers replacing part of the shipyard’s floating docks with a more efficient shiplift and transfer system,” said Rolf-Atle Tomassen, managing director of Syncrolift AS. “We have worked with this project over a long period and are happy to get started with the basic engineering design now.”

Syncrolift will conduct project management and engineering from its headquarters and innovation laboratories in Vestby, Norway.

Asmar’s Talcahuano yard performs ship repair and maintenance work on both naval vessels and commercial ships up to 96,000dwt, in addition to the construction of new vessels up to 50,000dwt. The shipyard has a total of six drydocks for repair work: two graving docks measuring 175m and 245m in length and four floating docks. The floating docks include two covered units – floating dock Talcahuano, with a lifting capacity of 4,000 tons, floating dock Young, with a lifting capacity of 21,300 tons, and the two floating docks Mery and Mutilla, both of which can accommodate vessels up to 3,000 tons.

This latest contract in Chile follows on from a number of new contracts for Syncrolift awarded in 2023, both for newbuilding and upgraded shiplifts and transfer systems in Europe, India, Indonesia, the UAE and Vietnam.

Meanwhile, undergoing repair at Asmar’s Talcahuano yard on February 22nd were the following vessels:

• Svanaug Elise – 1,514gt 2001-built purse seiner fishing vessel. This vessel was bought by an unnamed Chilean owner from Norway’s Kolbjorn Erviki & Sonner at the end of 2023
• Puerto Aysen – 12,834dwt 2010-built chemical tanker, owned by Chile’s Compañía Maritima Chilenasa SA, Valparaiso, and managed by NSC Shipmanagement Chile Ltda, Valparaiso