FEBRUARY 8, 2012 — Damen Shiprepair Brest, France, continues to recover market share in the LNG repair business, following Damen's acquisition of the former Sobrena, just under a year ago.

The shipyard has been well respected for its LNG expertise and is getting another opportunity to demonstrate it with the arrival this month of the  89,880 cu.m, Teekay owned and managed Arctic Spirit.

The ship  which  is scheduled to stay in the Brest shipyard for three weeks, is one of the few LNG carriers with an IHI SPB Prismatic Tank Cargo Containment System, which makes it a somewhat special and highly complex vessel.

Damen Shiprepair Brest Managing Director, Jos Goris comments: "We are very pleased and proud that an industry major such as Teekay has proven confidence in our yard."

Late last year, Shell and Hyproc also chose to drydock LNG carriers at the yard.

Able to carry out drydocking, refit and repair works, Damen Brest is determined to become a reliable and long-term business partner for the LNG community.

"We have a very clear and open business concept which is built on transparency, mutual trust and customer service. In the current challenging climate we understand that our clients need to perform more than ever and the selection of the right shipyard plays an important role in being successful," says Mr Goris.

In the past the shipyard carried out more than 100 LNG carrier refit projects. Damen Shiprepair Brest is confident that it can continue to show the LNG community that the shipyard has the expertise and experience needed to serve this specialist sector.

The closure of the then Sobrena in September 2011 meant there was little competition in the Northwest European region for LNG drydocking and repair. However, says Mr. Goris, most LNG carrier owners and managers trading in the region have indicated that they are willing to support fresh alternatives.

"We are very confident that the LNG community will support us with more bookings and at sustainable price levels," says Mr. Goris.

"Damen Shiprepair Brest is very keen to bring healthy competition to the market again," he says. "We are aware that there is some heavy discounting going on, but would question whether such low rates will benefit the LNG sector in the long-term."

During the first nine months of operations as part of the Damen Shipyards Group, Damen Shiprepair Brest has serviced more than 40 vessels from majors such as Knutsen, Odfjell, Hyproc, STASCO, Columbia Ship Management, Louis Dreyfus Armateurs, Northern Marine Management, Wallem, Bourbon and CMA-CGM.

Damen Shiprepair Brest offers a broad range of services to key markets and for any vessel type, including LNG tankers, oil tankers, semi-submersibles, shuttle tankers, FPSO's, offshore construction vessels, jack-up rigs, ro-ro vessels and ferries.

The well-established repair yard has modern facilities and three graving docks, as well as several repair berths. The largest dry dock measures 420 m x 80 m and is one of the biggest in Europe, allowing the yard to accommodate almost any vessel in the world. The highly skilled workforce numbers 220 people.