Suez canal Authority deploys platform supply vessel

CAIRO – 20 June 2017: A platform supply vessel was introduced on Tuesday in the convoy of the Suez Canal Authority to be administered by the authority-owned shipbuilding company Temsah. The vessel is named after the former authority’s chairman Ahmed Fadel.

Mohab Mamish, the authority’s current chairman, raised Egypt’s flag on the vessel alongside Fadel, and both ministers of petroleum and transportation, Tarek El-Molla and Hisham Arafat respectively.




The vessel is the largest multipurpose supply and logistical support unit in the Middle East. It functions in the DP2 system - ensuring vessels maintain a fixed position without anchors – and is equipped with machines with a capacity of 9,800 KW.

The vessel was built in the Chinese maritime arsenal Guangzhou by China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) , one of the two largest shipbuilding conglomerates in China. The length and width of the ship are 90 meters and 18.8 meters respectively with a capacity of 4,744 tones.

The vessel has a crane with a capacity of 75 tones and a large helicopter airstrip and is capable of maneuvering.




The ship is operating in the Active Heave Compensation (AHC) system, a technique used on lifting equipment to reduce the influence of waves upon offshore operations, which allows the ship to lift weights up to 40 tons and positioning them in a precise point in the depth of 2,000 meters underwater.

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.

A ceremony was held in Ismailia governorate and attended by many officials and the Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiec.

In his speech, Mamish thanked Fadel for his efforts and contributions in developing the Suez Canal Authority and its services. He also asserted that the entire world and not just Egypt benefit from the Suez Canal waterway.

Mamish added that the vessel would not just contribute to the work of the authority but to the Egyptian economy as well as it will assist in the fields of natural gas and oil discovered recently in Egypt’s territorial Mediterranean water.

The introduction of the Ahmed Fadel vessel is a process within the framework of an initiative launched last year by Mamish to develop the facilities of the Suez Canal Authority.