“We are proud to be the new main sponsor of this very successful team,” says Dido van Holthe, Manager Corporate Communications. “This team has already won many trophies in its J22 class: several European championship titles, and a world championship title in 2006. Their goal is to become world champion in 2010, when the tournament will be held in the Netherlands. HMC supports their ambition and that is why we became their new sponsor.”

With the sponsor contract HMC increases its visibility among water sports minded people, a logical connection for an offshore company. “Many of our employees enjoy water sports and have a competitive attitude. The sailing team is aiming to be first in championships. That is also what HMC is about: we strive to be the best in our work all over the world”, Van Holthe concludes.

The first big upcoming event for the “LIFE is too short to SAIL slow” team is the national Dutch championship, which will be held from 12-14 September in Workum. We wish the team smooth sailing and a ranking among the best.

Update
Between September 12 and 14 the Dutch national championships were held over 10 races by a fleet of 22 boats on the eastern part of the IJsselmeer, outside the town of Workum. Team HMC, consisting of Jeroen den Boer (helmsman), Sanne Botterweg (mainsail trimmer and pit), Martijn Punt (trimmer) and Florence van Mierlo (bow and tactics), secured the title during the final race. They finished in the top three in eight of the 10 races. 

About Heerema Marine Contractors
Heerema Marine Contractors is a world-leading marine contractor for the oil and gas industry. HMC transports, installs and removes all types of offshore facilities and operates three of the four largest crane vessels in the world. HMC is a fully-owned subsidiary of the Heerema Group.

Media Inquiries
For more information on this news release, please contact Dido van Holthe, Manager Corporate Communications, phone +31-71-579 9751 or mobile +31 6 51 378 171.

Heerema Marine Contractors (HMC) received two Letters of Intent from Woodside Energy Ltd on November 14, 2007, for the transport and installation of the North Rankin B Platform substructure and topside off the northwest coast of Western Australia.

Heerema Marine Contractors is a world-leading marine contractor for the oil and gas industry. HMC transports, installs and removes all types of offshore facilities and operates three of the four largest crane vessels in the world. HMC is a fully-owned subsidiary of the Heerema Group.

For more information on this project, please contact Dido van Holthe, Manager Communications, phone +31-71-579 9751 or mobile +31 6 51 378 171.

HMC Project Manager Wendell Freeman said: “The Atlantis Pipe-in-Pipe (PiP) Flowline Project (AtFL) was the most challenging project I have worked on. The work was planned, engineered, and executed to the last detail; notwithstanding, there were setbacks and unforeseen problems. The best known problem was the Balder flooding incident. As disruptive as the incident was, the recovery of the Balder, in record time while continuing to perform installation activities, shows the character of HMC both onshore and offshore. The success of the Atlantis Flowline project and the groundwork it laid for future projects was a result of the close working corporation between HMC and BP and both parties' commitment to safety, quality, production, and attention to details. The offshore success started with a solid onshore foundation and was followed up by outstanding execution by the Balder, HMC PQ Crew, Union Manta and HMC PMT (Project Management Team). It was a job well done by all involved and it was my privilege to have been a part of the Atlantis Flowline Team.”

HMC entered the Deepwater Subsea market in the late 1990s. Investments in knowledge and development of technology are key factors for success in this market. Welding, Field Joint Coating, Installation methods, but also the use of specialist materials, are areas of technology development that allow HMC to compete.

In 2002 the decision was made to invest in Reeling know-how. A Ph.D. research project was set up to investigate Reeling while using the so called Tight Fit Pipe (mechanically bonded clad pipe). Jan Meek, Professor Offshore Engineering of the TU Delft, and working for the Heerema Group, was the supervisor of Eelke.

Further investigation into the topic is expected. HMC also participates in other joint industry research projects, like welding technologies.

An interesting article on Eelke Focke’s research can be found in Offshore Visie. (Dutch only  )

The strategy of Heerema Marine Contractors focuses on full field development in the international oil & gas industry, including possible future development in the Arctic.

“Heerema Marine Contractors is known for its strong and successful position as offshore construction contractor. A new generation, deepwater construction vessel is needed to meet the demands of the national and international oil companies. Market developments and needs from customers, as well as our current market position are strong drivers behind the decision to proceed with the design of a new vessel,” explains John Reed, the Chief Executive Officer.

The design of the vessel will begin immediately and will be fast tracked. A tender to select the best shipbuilding yard, which will likely be in Korea or China, will take place in the near future. The new vessel will be exceptional in various aspects: speed, hull shape, pipelay features in deepwater and shallow water, crane possibilities and capabilities to work in the Arctic.

The size of the vessel will be approximately 220m x 88m. The lift capacity of the cranes has to be determined, but will at least be comparable to the capacity of the Thialf. The dual crane capacity of Thialf, the largest crane vessel in the world and part of HMC’s fleet, is 14,200 tons. The new crane vessel will be complementary to the existing fleet and offer more possibilities to customers. The 1 billion US Dollar investment will be financed from internally generated funds, augmented by traditional bank financing and private equity.

Company profile
Heerema Marine Contractors, based in Leiden, The Netherlands, is the world leading offshore construction contractor for the oil and gas industry. HMC transports, installs and removes all types of offshore facilities. The fleet now consists of three crane vessels (Thialf, Hermod and Balder). HMC is a division within the Heerema Group. For more information on Heerema and HMC please visit our website www.heerema.com

For more information on this press release, please contact

Dido E.E. van Holthe
Manager Communications
Heerema Marine Contractors
Tel + 31 71 579 9751
Mobile + 31 6 51 378 171
dvanholthe@hmc-heerema.com

For more information please contact:
Anna van Os, Communications Officer
Telephone: 31 (0) 71 5799000
Email: info@hmc-heerema.com

Heerema Marine Contractors is very pleased to announce that it has again set a world record in installing the world’s deepest permanent mooring piles ever. The installation is part of the Independence Hub project which HMC is currently executing for its client Enterprise Field Services, LLC, in the Gulf of Mexico.

The 18 x 88ft suction piles, with a dry weight of 180mT, were installed at a water depth of 8011 ft (2442m) using the Deepwater Crane Vessel (DCV) Balder. HMC’s previous record with the Balder was BP Atlantis, installed in 2005 at 2,134m.

HMC was awarded the contract for the installation of the piles, the hull, moorings and catenary risers (SCR’s) April last year and started the execution at the beginning of March this year. HMC expect to complete the last phase of the project at the end of this year.
The success of this operation has been possible thanks to the state-of-the-art competence achieved by using technology based on utilizing remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) mounted suction pile pumps and the Balder Mooring Line Deployment Winch (MLDW).

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) John Reed; ”A milestone for the vessel and her crew, who have now shown the industry that HMC is capable of operating in water depths of more than two kilometres (8000ft). To do this successfully, requires great skill, effort and equipment. It also demonstrates our clients that they can rely on HMC’s deepwater construction equipment and it’s built in back up capabilities.”

The Independence Hub is owned by an affiliate of Enterprise Products Partners, LP and Helix Energy Solutions and will be operated by Anadarko Petroleum Corp. Once installed it will be the deepest Floating Offshore Installation (FOI) unit in the world, located in the Gulf of Mexico in Mississippi Canyon block 920 in 8,000' water depth. The Independence Hub will initially provide production facilities for 10 independent fields - Atlas, Atlas NW, Cheyenne, Jubilee, Merganser, Mondo, Q, San Jacinto, Spiderman, and Vortex.

HMC is the world leading marine contractor for the oil and gas industry. HMC transports, installs and removes all types of offshore facilities, including pipelines, with three of the four biggest crane vessels in the world. HMC is a fully owned subsidiary of Heerema Group.

For more information please contact:
Anna van Os, Communications Officer
Telephone: +31 (0) 71 5799000
Email: info@hmc-heerema.com

HMC is the world leading marine contractor for the oil and gas industry. HMC transports, installs and removes all types of offshore facilities with three of the four biggest crane vessels in the world. HMC is a fully owned subsidiary of Heerema Group.

Directors

The installation of the SCR’s (20”and 24”) was executed in a waterdepth of 1,840 m and turned out to be the deepest 24” SCR ever installed, which again is a major achievement for HMC.

A steel catenary riser is a pipeline in deepwater which provides the connection between a floating production facility and the pipeline on the seafloor. To construct safely a heavy SCR in deep water, and subsequently hang it off from the Floating production facility, requires a broad field of expertise like welding and Marine Construction.

This time the installation was extremely challenging for HMC as our deepwater construction vessel Balder required a good weather window of minimum 7 days for each SCR, which goes far beyond the duration of any reliable weather forecast.

The SCR Campaign for the Mardi Gras Thunder Horse started initially in June ’05, but could not be completed then due to the ballast incident of the Thunder Horse platform in the Gulf of Mexico. This platform tilted July last year following the passing of Hurricane Dennis after which HMC received a ‘service contract’ from BP.

HMC is the world leading marine contractor for the oil and gas industry. HMC transports, installs and removes all types of offshore facilities with three of the four biggest crane vessels in the world. HMC is a fully owned subsidiary of Heerema Group.

For more information on this project, please contact:

Anna van Os, Communications Officer
Telephone: +31 (0) 71 5799000
Email: info@hmc-heerema.com

We would like to thank Hein Mulder for his commitment and continuous support of the Heerema Group during his career.

As soon as the successor of Mr John Reed at INTEC Engineering has been defined, the transition will take place and a final date will be communicated.

John Reed started his career in the Heerema Group in 1981 at Heerema Marine Contractors. He has worked in a number of management positions, including General Manager HMC Houston. Since January 2004 Mr John Reed is Chief Executive Officer at INTEC Engineering – a division of the Heerema Group – based in Houston.

We congratulate John Reed with this appointment and wish him much success with this new challenge in his career.

With the appointment of John Reed, HMC enters a new phase for which the strategy will be evaluated and new directions will be laid out.

Further changes in HMC’s top management are also made known. With immediate effect the new top management layer of HMC consists of Hein Mulder/John Reed (CEO), Stephan Hase (CFO), Steve Preston and Chris van Beek. Dirk Leenheer will vacate his position.

Exact reporting lines and structures will be defined in the coming weeks.

On behalf of Heerema Holding and the Advisory Board of HMC,

Pieter Heerema

For more information please contact:

Ellen Barnhoorn,
Group Director HR and Communications,
Telephone +31 70 312 2733

As a result of hurricane Katrina the topsides of the oil and natural gas production platform Mars were considerably damaged. Part of the awarded project contains lifting and up righting the drilling rig on Mars. HMC has already started mobilizing resources to serve this fast track project.

The support work is scheduled for execution by the crane vessel Hermod and should start early November. The Hermod is capable of a tandem lift of 8,100 tonnes (9,000 sht). The vessel has an overall length of 154 metres (505 ft) and a breadth of 86 metres (282 ft).

‘Mars is one of the gulf's largest deep-water platforms with oil production. Considering the fast track of the project, this contract is a real challenge for HMC.’ states Eric Romijn, Project Director HMC.

HMC is the world leading marine contractor for the oil and gas industry. HMC transports, installs and removes all types of offshore facilities with three of the four biggest crane vessels in the world. HMC is a fully owned subsidiary of Heerema Group.

For more information on this project, please contact:

Anna van Os, Communications Officer
Telephone: +31 (0) 71 5799000

Anna is an experienced journalist. In the last eight years she has written for het Financieele Dagblad, the international Newswire Dow Jones and for the Prague Post, an English written newspaper in the Czech Republic.

-end-

Notes:
HMC provides design, transportation and installation services to the international oil and gas industry. The company is part of the Heerema Group with activities in the worldwide oil and gas and infrastructure markets. These activities are organized in four independently operating companies: Heerema Offshore Installation Group (HMC), Heerema Fabrication Group, Heavy Transport Group (Dockwise), and INTEC Engineering.

-end-

Notes:
HMC provides design, transportation and installation services to the international oil and gas industry. The company is part of the Heerema Group with activities in the worldwide oil and gas and infrastructure markets. These activities are organized in four independently operating companies: Heerema Offshore Installation Group (HMC), Heerema Fabrication Group, Heavy Transport Group (Dockwise), and INTEC Engineering.

-end-

Notes to the Editor:
HMC provides design, transportation and installation services to the international oil and gas industry. The company is part of the Heerema Group with activities in the worldwide oil and gas and infrastructure markets. These activities are organized in four independently operating companies: Heerema Offshore Installation Group (HMC), Heerema Fabrication Group, Heavy Transport Group (Dockwise), and INTEC Engineering.

The hammer which will be operational form early March 2003 ensures that HMC is able to offer a flexible approach to Deepwater operations. Ordered from Menck, the new hammer spread is designed to meet the requirements of Deepwater projects, already in depths exceeding 2,000 metres.

Chris de Ruiter for HMC said: "We are committed to being a first class contractor for Deepwater development. Having our own hammer spread means we are not only able to meet client's requirements for installation, but when tendering for new work, we are confident that the hammer is available."

-end-

Notes to the Editor:
HMC provides design, transportation and installation services to the international oil and gas industry. The company is part of the Heerema Group with activities in the worldwide oil and gas and infrastructure markets. These activities are organized in four independently operating companies: Heerema Offshore Installation Group (HMC), Heerema Fabrication Group, Heavy Transport Group (Dockwise), and INTEC Engineering.

A spokesman for HMC added: "This is a great achievement for Heerema Marine Contractors. Lifts of this size take a tremendous amount of planning, preparation and close co-operation with all parties involved, ExxonMobil, the field operators and Heerema Tønsberg/ABB, the deck designers and fabricators. HMC has again demonstrated why it leads the way in heavy lifts. We are proud to be able to add the Ringhorne lift to our already impressive list of achievements, safely and successfully installed.'

Ringhorne was an EPCI project awarded in August 2000 to Group Company, Heerema Tønsberg, with the transportation and installation of both the jacket and deck being carried out by HMC's SSCV Thialf.

Earlier this year, Heerema Marine Contractors established a world water-depth record for the installation of the BP Horn Mountain SPAR mooring line system, which was installed in deep waters of 1,650 meters (5,500 feet) off the Gulf of Mexico and subsequently its deck installation.

-end-

Notes to the Editor:
HMC provides design, transportation and installation services to the international oil and gas industry. The company is part of the Heerema Group with activities in the worldwide oil and gas and infrastructure markets. These activities are organized in four independently operating companies: Heerema Offshore Installation Group (HMC), Heerema Fabrication Group, Heavy Transport Group (Dockwise), and INTEC Engineering.

ChevronTexaco thanked HMC and its personnel for the success of the project. In particular, the excellent planning and team work by all members of the Heerema Installation Team. The entire installation was incident free, which again, impressed ChevronTexaco.

HMC's expertise and commitment to safety and continuous improvement with a strong commitment to team work was the key to this project success.

The Cyrus project was performed by SSCV HERMOD

-end-

Notes to the Editor:
HMC provides design, transportation and installation services to the international oil and gas industry. The company is part of the Heerema Group with activities in the worldwide oil and gas and infrastructure markets. These activities are organized in four independently operating companies: Heerema Offshore Installation Group (HMC), Heerema Fabrication Group, Heavy Transport Group (Dockwise), and INTEC Engineering.

After several month of delay in installation and as the completion deadline for a heavy deck to be lifted was nearing, HMC was approached to provide help and assistance. Oil Company, Kerr-McGee's Boomvang massive deck needed to be installed onto an already positioned SPAR, situated in the Gulf of Mexico. Timing to meet completion deadlines was critical. The window for HMC to complete the work was within four weeks. This was from receiving the order to completing the installation!

The project was originally scheduled to be installed in December 2001, but due to different technical reasons the installation was delayed for several months.

As time became critical HMC was approached by Kerr-McGee to install the heavy deck and had just four weeks to achieve the result. But, before the deck could be moved or lifted, modifications would need to be carried out to enable the HERMOD to lift the weighty deck. Changes had to be made to the lift configuration and two lift points were added, as the initial lifting points were designed for its original contractors. The depth of the water in which the deck had to be installed was deep. Therefore, an appropriate mooring system had to be quickly calculated and prepared. All of the engineering work had to be completed before the deck, 5,000 metric tonnes, could be transported and lifted onto the SPAR.

Once all the engineering and modifications were complete, the deck was lifted and successfully installed in a one day operation. Perfectly executed on time!

-end-

Notes to the Editor:
HMC provides design, transportation and installation services to the international oil and gas industry. The company is part of the Heerema Group with activities in the worldwide oil and gas and infrastructure markets. These activities are organized in four independently operating companies: Heerema Offshore Installation Group (HMC), Heerema Fabrication Group, Heavy Transport Group (Dockwise), and INTEC Engineering.

A spokesman for HMC added: "This major investment project is part of our program to maintain our vessels to the highest standards. It will ensure that Hereema Marine Contractors can meet the exceeding demands of the industry."

Since the completion of the thruster project in early April, THIALF has performed several successful installations contracts in the North Sea.

-end-

Notes to the Editor:
HMC provides design, transportation and installation services to the international oil and gas industry. The company is part of the Heerema Group with activities in the worldwide oil and gas and infrastructure markets. These activities are organized in four independently operating companies: Heerema Offshore Installation Group (HMC), Heerema Fabrication Group, Heavy Transport Group (Dockwise), and INTEC Engineering.

The BP Horn Mountain SPAR project set the new record with its mooring line system, which was installed in deep waters of 1,650 meters (5,500 feet) off the Gulf of Mexico.

The SPAR project, installed in two phases, saw the world record broken during the first phase of the project, with the installation of the mooring line system. The mooring line system consists of nine piles, each pile being 5.5 metres in diameter and 27 metres long. The length of each mooring line is 2,300 meters and is made up of three sections. One section, 75 metres of chain link (each link being 14cm in diameter) and two sections of heavy steel wire also 14cms in diameter.

The world record set by Heerema Marine Contractors was established in April 2002 and was the first project to be carried out by the Balder after its deep water conversion.

The Balder's conversion has made installations of this nature possible. With deeper installations yet to be installed later this year by the company, HMC is perfectly placed to meet the ever demanding challenges of the offshore industry.

-end-

Notes to the Editor:
HMC provides design, transportation and installation services to the international oil and gas industry. The company is part of the Heerema Group with activities in the worldwide oil and gas and infrastructure markets. These activities are organized in four independently operating companies: Heerema Offshore Installation Group (HMC), Heerema Fabrication Group, Heavy Transport Group (Dockwise), and INTEC Engineering.