Turkish shipbuilder Çiçek Shipyard will return to the shiprepair market. The company has been concentrating on new ship construction since 2003, but with the downturn in this market it will broaden its activities.
With an internal length of 225 metres and a width of 37.5 metres, Çiçek's Panamax building dock at Tuzla Bay is capable of accommodating most Panamax vessels. Furthermore, the availability of a 300-tonne gantry crane on the dock will enable Çiçek to undertake major conversion projects, as well as more routine repairs and drydockings.
In early May, the 58,000DWT bulk carrier 'Kaptan Arif Bayraktar' was floated out of the drydock, clearing the way for this facility to switch to ship repairing. However, the company will continue to construct newbuildings in its yard using two slipways: one capable of accommodating ships up to 26,000DWT and the other suited to the construction of smaller, more specialised vessels up to 5,000DWT.
Çiçek has already won its first shiprepair contact with the 35,795DWT Italian chemical tanker 'Maritea' expected to arrive in Tuzla on May 28, 2010. Owned by Carichi Liquidi Societa Armatoriale (Calisa), part of the Novella Group, it will undergo an intermediate survey together with some general maintenance work.
