Innovative thinking gives you wings

JIFMAR OFFSHORE SERVICES I PROFILE

Jifmar Offshore Services has never shied away from delivering ground-breaking integrated maritime solutions. It is one of the leading partners in developing the Canopée, the firstever sailing cargo vessel. Sales Director Tanguy Dennielou told Andy Probert more about the innovation and how Jifmar’s decision to diversify has reaped significant growth.

French marine contractor Jifmar Offshore Services has enjoyed a fair wind in its business growth in recent years, with acquisitions, fleet expansion, effective diversification and a vessel named Canopée.

Jifmar, founded in 2005 by visionaries Foad Zahedi and JeanMichel Berud, is a marine contractor operating a 44-strong fleet of modern, versatile and multi-cat DP vessels, barges and ROVs.

Having handled the maintenance, repair and operations of oil terminals in France, it landed a contract with BP and other similar companies. These helped it fuel stratospheric growth, and diversify clientele from Europe to Asia.

Attention-grabbing project

But it is Jifmar’s latest project that has caught the attention of the marine world, with its involvement in Canopée as a result of winning a contract from the Ariane Group for a new transport concept.

Once delivered, the ship will load the Ariane 6 launcher components in Bremen, Rotterdam, Le Havre, Bordeaux and Livourne, and be transferred to the Kourou launch site in French Guyana. The Ariane 6 is the sixth generation of European rocket launchers, which have launched satellites for decades.

The 121m vessel, to be operated by Alizés, a joint venture between Jifmar and Zephyr et Borée, will be equipped with four 30m high Oceanwings. These sail panels will positively affect fuel consumption of the diesel direct mechanical propulsion systems.

Controllable pitch propellers can be put in feather mode when the Oceanwing wind system delivers sufficient power for the vessel under speed. This will shut down both or one of the two Wärtsilä main engines, saving around 35% on fuel consumption.

The vessel, which will have a capacity of 1,500 tonnes, is being built between the Netherlands and Poland, where the Neptune shipyards are located. It has been designed as an open-top vessel with high sides to protect the cargo.

The ship’s name derives from the canopy above the ‘Belly of Paris’, an open underground urban space on the site where Les

JIFMAR OFFSHORE SERVICES I PROFILE

Halles de Paris once stood. Alizes will take delivery of the vessel in late 2022.

“Neptune shipyard has a strong track record in building cargo vessels that meet the highest industry standards,” observed Mr Berud. “At Jifmar, we have trusted them for many years to build our innovative and versatile vessels. We look forward to operating this vessel and showing the full potential of wind propulsion.”

Sales Director Tanguy Dennielou said Jifmar’s recent evolution to this point had included three acquisitions between 2017 and 2019. These included VDC Offshore in France, North West Marine in Scotland and Shetland-based Delta Marine. These takeovers had complemented Jifmar’s overall fleet, and include nine DP multi-cat operator vessels, the world’s biggest contingent in one fleet.

Diversified and resilient

Its latest addition was JIF MAIRI, for North West Marine. The 24m vessel was redesigned to meet the needs of customers in the aquaculture sector. It will also be capable of carrying out missions in ports, towing, diving support, ROV support, and wreck removal.

Still going strong is Multicat Roxane Z, Jifmar’s biggest vessel, brought on stream six years ago. The 34m vessel, fitted out for firefighting, anchor handling, ROV support, dive support and cable laying, is capable of working in shallow waters or for deep-sea operations.

Headquartered in Aix-en-Provence, near Marseille, Jifmar today employs 315 people and has 12 subsidiaries, including locations in Houston, Texas, and others in Africa, such as Gabon and Congo. These enable the marine contractor to operate a modern and versatile fleet for clients involved in development, installation, operation and maintenance in the offshore oil and gas industry and coastal infrastructure.

The company has branched into new markets from the renewable energy sector; offshore wind farm operations, marine construction, salvage operations, fish farming, cable-laying, and serving the defence industry.

Mr Dennielou added: “Jifmar is predicted to end 2021 with a €45 million turnover compared to €30 million in 2020. Since 2015, the company has enjoyed continued business growth, and it’s a trend that we continue to see.

“We are well known for working from shore, nearshore and offshore, while aiming to be a one-stop solution provider with engineering, infrastructure and planning.”

Jifmar had a hand in helping to deliver France’s first offshore floating wind turbine – a 2MW Vestas unit mounted on Ideol’s Floatgen floating platform – 12km off the coast of Le Croisic, Brittany, in 2018. Hook-up to the mooring lines was carried out by Jifmar, followed by connection to the export cable and power grid after a final series of checks.

Reducing carbon emissions

Such opportunities to provide offshore wind services to the French market has resulted in Jifmar signing a MoU with World Marine Offshore to establish a joint venture. The new company will deliver vessels to the market and turnkey services.

Jifmar is highly focused on sustainability and reducing its carbon footprint globally, given that its vessels are presently operating in Taiwan and the Philippines, West Africa, Senegal, and across Northern Europe.

Mr Dennielou said: “As the Canopée contract with Ariane Group is for ten years, it demonstrates the kind of unique flagship project that best represents Jifmar’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions.”

The company has embarked on a project to remove engines from vessels less than 12m and equip them with electric battery power propulsion.

“We aspire to have a green fleet, especially when we look at the lifetime of a vessel. We are assessing vessels on a case by case

basis as to what we can do in switching to new technologies and minimising emissions.”

Mr Dennielou revealed Jifmar has also provided a platform to test a new type of wind technology for cargo vessel propulsion.

“It is kite technology which will be utilized to propel some vessels. We are supporting and looking at integrating this innovation for the market in general,” he added.

“Over time, we have manoeuvred into niche markets to provide a complete global solution service to clients. We are an adaptable and flexible business and bring more added value to them.”

Client focused

While the pandemic impacted crew changes, the company has been highly resilient and proactive in helping to maintain their safety and security.

“We also unlocked new projects. We began operations in Mozambique and Taiwan for the first time and demonstrated our ability to maintain our flexibility under challenging circumstances,” Mr Dennielou detailed. “But the acceleration of activities, where client expectations are much higher, the immediacy of starting shorter, and reduced timeframe deliveries are just some of the challenges that we are seeing in today’s markets.”

He added: “While Jifmar is just one small piece in our bigger clients’ projects, we are still expected to reduce our carbon footprints and integrate new solutions.

“We always strive to strike a perfect balance between our engineering expertise and the skills of our seafarers. We are not a pure contractor or a pure shipowner, but a hybrid that combines everything together, and we go where the client needs us.

“We have built long-term relations with clients and shipyards, and this is through our whole-hearted commitment and trust to them.”

Mr Dennielou concluded: “Our diversification has enabled us to be entirely resilient and proactive across all the industries we are active in. There are more requests from clients to come as a solution provider, with out-of-the-box thinking. For us, that is entirely natural. Engineering comes with the vessel. So we are entirely comfortable with that, and it positions us well for future industry demands.” n

SIRENHA

Jifmar is a worldwide renowned shipowner specialised in DP multipurpose workboats. As a global leader of DP2 vessels of this kind, Sirehna has been supporting Jifmar for the last 12 years in order to ensure the best possible performance of their dynamic positioning systems for their customers.

Sirehna and Jifmar are also working together to bring innovation to the maritime world by experiencing and putting into test new sensors, operations modes and technological bricks.

“The collaboration between Sirehna and Jifmar in the last decade is a concrete proof of mutual understanding and loyalty. The expertise from both sides coming together benefits all of us; and the journey is far from over with exciting innovation and projects coming up,” said Olivier Doucy, CEO, Sirehna.

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