KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 21): Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Bhd (MHB) has welcomed the arrival of the first vessel at its newly built Dry Dock No. 3 at the MMHE West Yard in Pasir Gudang, Johor.

In a statement today, the group said the dry dock commenced operations on Saturday.

“MHB is proud to mark this significant milestone with the arrival of the first vessel, CSAV TOCONAO, a container vessel owned by Zodiac Maritime, to undergo repair and maintenance works in this new dry dock,” it said.

MHB managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) Pandai Othman said the additional dock space had given the group a competitive edge to be a step ahead in competing with other players in the marine repair industry in the region.

He said MHB is optimistic that the investment will allow the group to bring in more clients and cater to more vessels in the coming years.

“It is a significant milestone to welcome CSAV TOCONAO as the first vessel to enter our newly built dry dock No. 3. I would like to thank Zodiac Maritime for their trust and confidence in MHB with their valuable assets.

“Our collaborations with Zodiac Maritime started way back in 2001. To date, we have completed 25 dry-docking repairs for Zodiac Maritime vessels utilising our dry dock, land-berth and quay facilities,” Pandai added.

MHB said Dry Dock No. 3 is the latest addition to the group’s existing two dry docks and one floating dock to conduct repair and refurbishment services on vessels and other marine and oil and gas (O&G) facilities.

Furthermore, it enhances MHB’s dry-docking capacity to provide multiple comprehensive works on liquefied natural gas carriers (LNGCs), floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) units, floating storage and offloading (FSO) units and oil rigs.

“The dry dock is 350 metres long, 80 metres wide and 14 metres deep. With the capacity to cater for all sizes of vessels up to 400,000 dwt (deadweight tonnage), it can also accommodate co-docking of smaller vessels concurrently when it is not in use for LNGC, FPSO or FSO units. It is fully equipped with supporting facilities, such as cranes, workshops, special equipment, offices and substation docks,” said the group.

MHB’s share price was down one sen or 2.17% lower at 45 sen as at 3.10pm today, valuing the group at RM712 million.