Global power systems company Rolls-Royce said it is to develop the largest ship lift in Asia at a new repair yard near Vietnam’s northern city of Haiphong following a decision to extend the system currently being installed there.

The company said in a statement obtained by the Daily on Thursday that the Syncrolift ship lift would be capable of docking Panamax size commercial ships. With the new extension, the platform will be lengthened to 225 meters and the maximum net lifting capacity increased to more than 28,000 tons.

Jeffrey Langsner, director of shiplifts at Rolls-Royce, said in the statement that the new Syncrolift would be the longest and have the largest lifting capacity of any shiplift in Asia. This Rolls-Royce technology will significantly expand the capability and efficiency of the shipyard.

The original Syncrolift contract awarded by Northern Shipping Joint Stock Company (Nosco) under Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines) in December 2009 comprised a 179-meter-long, 35-metre-wide platform with a maximum net lifting capacity of over 23,000 tons.

Rolls-Royce said the Syncrolift project was scheduled for completion in 2012 and was one of the four ongoing Syncrolift projects in Vietnam. Both Nosco and Rolls-Royce did not unveil investment capital of this project.

Rolls-Royce is a world leader in shiplift and transfer systems with more than 240 installations designed and supplied in 70 nations worldwide. In addition to marine and energy, the company has also established a strong presence in civil aerospace and defense aerospace on the global market.

Corporations in oil and gas companies, shipping lines, and aviation areas are major customers of Rolls-Royce in Vietnam. Last year, Rolls-Royce said it had won a US$240 million share of a Vietnam Airlines order for V2500 to power 36 Airbus A321s.

Rolls-Royce also involves capability building programs in Vietnam as the company, the British Council Vietnam and the UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) just signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to support the development of management skills within State-owned enterprises (SOE) in Vietnam.

Warren Pain, head of trade and investment at the British embassy in Hanoi, said with SOEs continuing to play a leading role in Vietnam’s economic development, the initiative would help strengthen management capacity to enable SOEs to drive the economy forward.

Pain of the British embassy said the initiative capitalized on key skills and strengths of each organization and to improve trade relations between the UK and Vietnam.

Source: SGT