Sisi inaugurates giant Offshore Support Vessel Ahmed Fadel

CAIRO – 23 December 2017: President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi has inaugurated on Saturday the giant Offshore Support Vessel, named Ahmed Fadel, which has joined the Suez Canal fleet in June 2017.

The giant vessel is one of the most modern of its kinds in the Middle East with $40 million total investments, according to a statement issued by the Suez Canal Authority (SCA).

The multi-purposed water craft could undertake a host of functions, including logistics support in the Middle East region, providing supplies, as well as being one of the biggest Platform supply vessels.

The vessel is provided with a Dynamic Positioning (DP2) system which means that it does not require the usage of anchors to maintain its course in the deep waters and thus, can carry out its main purpose well.

Ahmed Fadel giant vessel established in China Guangzhou Shipyard by China State Shipbuilding Corporation CSSC, one of China's largest shipbuilding companies. The vessel is 90 meters long and 18.8 meters wide, with gross tonnage 4,744 tons.

It is equipped with a characteristic active heave-compensated (AHC) crane with a tonnage of 75-ton, which could lift up to 40 tons and place them at a specific point under the sea in depth of 2,000 meters.

The vessel can carry remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) detecting and controlling submarine oil pipelines at a depth of up to 2,000 meters.

The ship also serves as a diving support vessel, in addition to accommodation and recreational facilities for 80 individuals and meeting rooms to run projects in open water.

Admiral Muhab Mamish said in June that the vessel would not just contribute to the work of the authority but to the Egyptian economy. It will also assist in the fields of natural gas and oil, discovered recently in Egypt’s territorial Mediterranean water.