Emirates Business 24|7 reported that Topaz Energy and Marine through its subsidiary Nico International Hydrospace has signed a contract with Vopak Horizon Fujairah for providing underwater services for pre-berthing inspection and back to back berthing of vessels at Vopak.

The statement said that the contract has been signed for a period of one year until April 2010. Over the period of the contract Topaz will provide a team of qualified and experienced divers for the pre-berthing inspections. The divers will carry out a detailed inspection of the floating and submarine hose string and all mooring accessories and will also provide other services until the berthing is completed.

Fujairah, situated on the Gulf of Oman near the mouth of the Gulf has been the base for Topaz's underwater services in the Middle East since 1981. Topaz's fully equipped team of divers can join vessels and installations at short notice anywhere in the Gulf of Oman or in the Arabian Gulf to carry out all types of underwater work.

Topaz offers a wide range of underwater services such as underwater hull cleaning of vessels, propeller polishing, wet docking and reporting, blanking of intakes and outlets, inspection and survey, underwater wet welding, anchor search and recovery from sea bed and salvage and wreck removal. Its subsidiary Nico is certified to carry out underwater surveys by all leading classification societies such as ABS, Lloyd's, NKK, Germanischer Lloyd and DNV.

In support of its diving operations, Topaz has purpose built a high speed catamaran aluminium workboat Nemo, a diving support vessel utilised to carry out daily routine diving operations. The team in Fujairah consists of 25 experienced and qualified personnel.

(Sourced from Emirates Business 24|7)