Rolls-Royce Expands in the Canary Islands

Rolls-Royce announced it has signed a cooperation agreement with the Astican Shipyard in Las Palmas, Canary Islands that it said will enhance the service capabilities of both parties to meet growing demand from rig and drillship owners.

A new 1,980m2 service facility will be built by Astican for Rolls-Royce to service and overhaul the complete Rolls-Royce product range, including the simultaneous reconditioning of up to six Azimuth thruster units.

Coupled with Astican’s ship repair facilities, the new custom-built service center at the crossroads of the Atlantic, linking Europe, Africa and the Americas, will allow Rolls-Royce to better serve operators with ongoing exploration, production development operations in these regions, the company said.

Antonio Germán Suárez, President of Astican, said, "We are delighted to join with a reputable partner such as Rolls-Royce in this new venture. We strongly believe that this agreement will help recognize the Port of Las Palmas as a one-stop-shop for the offshore industry in West Africa. Furthermore, this is a positive signal to other complementary equipment manufacturers that Las Palmas is an attractive place for facility investment.”

Knut Hovland, Senior Vice President Marine Services Europe & Africa, said, “The Canary Islands is an important location for the offshore industry and this new partnership will allow us to deliver an unparalleled level of service and skill to our customers. We are delighted to develop our relationship with Astican, one of the leading ship repair yards in the region.”

Both Rolls-Royce and Astican customers will benefit from the integrated approach offering full vessel overhaul capabilities in one location.

“The core business is rigs and drillships, but we see a growth in the offshore supply and service market and the fisheries segment for the coming years. Rolls-Royce will be able to provide Original Equipment Manufacturer services to all these sectors,” Hovland said.

The partnership is expected to draw more activity to the Astican Shipyard and Rolls-Royce service center as customers will have easy access to the Rolls-Royce expertise required for the overhaul of its sophisticated machinery and equipment.

Rolls-Royce said it is increasing its cooperation with shipyards globally to provide expert support as close to the customer as possible, and these agreements are complementary to the Rolls-Royce network of global service centers.