Topaz launches second Miclyn Express crew boat

The Topaz Energy & Marine subsidiary; Nico Craft recently launched a crew boat named ”Express 19‘ for Miclyn Express Offshore, Singapore. The 23 metre crew boat was designed by Technicraft, New Zealand and all the engineering and construction work was undertaken by Nico Craft in Fujairah, part of the Topaz Engineering Division.

The Operations Manager of Nico Craft; Frank Brown said of the successful launch, “The launch went perfectly according to plan. The vessel will undergo Harbour and Sea Trials in the coming weeks and is scheduled to be delivered to the client in early April.”

‘Express 19’, a medium speed mono hull vessel is designed to service vessels within a distance of 50 nautical miles from port of refuge.The boat was constructed using welded seawater resistant aluminium alloy and the hull is a semi-planing type.The overall length is 23.1 metres on a moulded beam of 5.6metres and a draught of 1.2 metres.
The crew boat has a deck cargo capacity of 32 square metres and can carry a crew of four and up to twelve passengers at speeds up to 24 knots. The vessel was built under Bureau Veritas certification.

Fazel A.Fazelbhoy, CEO of Topaz said, ”Congratulations to all in Nico Craft and Topaz Engineering on this success. This is yet another step on our way to establishing ourselves as a regional leader in the segment.‘

Nico Craft recently signed off on the delivery of the 17.2 metre crew boat - “DNV Express 18”, also for Miclyn Express Offshore. Nico Craft currently has over ten boats under construction, five of which are steel mono hull crew boats designed by Incat Crowther, Australia. Its new state-of-the-art facility has 2 sheds of 120 meters each with all the required machinery including an impressive 200-tonne capacity Marine Travelift.

Nico Craft’s focus has been passenger ferries, fast patrol boats, crew boats, utility boats and various commercial craft up to 40 metres LOA. The new state-of-the-art facility has two sheds of 120 metres each with all the required production machinery. Topaz Energy and Marine, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Omani listed entity Renaissance Services SAOG, is one of the leading marine and oil and gas fabrication companies in the Middle East with over 35 years of experience in the region.

We’re on our way! By the time you read this, we will have been trekking for 4 days. By all accounts our worst day will be over (day two and a day of staircases cut into the mountain) and hopefully we will all have survived in good spirits and will be well on our way to Everest Base Camp, which we reach on 5th April.

Our final tally of trekkers is 12 – Amanda, Paul and Eddie Roeger, Matt and Donna O’Bryan, Todd Colwell, Colin Holloway, John Dermody, Mita Srinivasan, Barbara Griffiths, Merelita Naidole and myself. For those who haven’t come across us yet – either having been persuaded to part with cash for a good cause or help us with an event - we are doing a charity trek and raising money for the Fujairah Welfare Association and an orphanage in Kathmandu.

We pledged 25% of our funds to the Welfare Association, and presented a cheque to them for Dhs.20,000 on Monday 23rd March at the Welfare Association’s offices. The balance of our funds (currently totalling Dhs. 80,764) will be used over the coming months to supply the orphanage with eggs, milk, fruit and clothing.

Support for our cause has been massive. Fujairah Observer have given us generous page space every month, while Mix restaurant and Fujairah Tennis and Country Club have allowed us to hold our meetings on their premises. From large events such as the country fair down to the ladies who donated their lunch money and children who donated their used toys, everyone has been exceedingly kind and generous.

If you go to www.trekkingfornepal.com or the Facebook group of the same name, we have published a complete list of contributions to date. While we’re trekking we hope to send back some pictures to post online, but this will depend on what technology we have available in the Himalayas. Who knows, there may be an internet café at Everest Base Camp these days! Before setting off from Kathmandu, however, we pay a visit to the orphanage to drop off clothes, books and toys for the children. Many thanks to everyone who contributed to this collection and to Air Arabia for helping us ship it out. We’re planning to continue with a few more fund-raisers after we come back, but in the meantime, I’d like to say a huge thank you to all the companies that have supported us: Fujairah Observer Imation Fujairah Tennis & Country Club Mix Restaurant Gulftainer Gulf Process Systems Le Meridien Al Aqah African & Eastern H2O Dubai Lime Rotana Al Aqah Sharjah Wanderers Det Norske Veritas Air Arabia Hilton Fujairah Al Ain Milk Paul Thuysbaert Photography Al Mersa Tours Golden Tulip Hotel, Dibba Aptec The Market Buzz Grand Dana Cineplex Rashid Printers, Ajman and the many kind individuals who made personal contributions. This is not to mention the hoard of volunteers who gave us time and effort to make our events a success and to the people Fujairah for turning up to our events.

Many thanks to all, and we hope to see you at our next event.

Carol Hyland