Iran’s ISOICO and Russia’s Barrikady joins hands to trade rig technology

Iran Shipbuilding and Offshore Industries Complex Company (ISOICO) and Russian Krasnye Barrikady Shipyard have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for cooperation on rig construction and technology transfer.

The agreement was signed on the sidelines of Russian National Industrial ExhibitionTrade and Industrial Dialogue: Russia-Iran 2015.

Krasnye Barrikady director Alexander Ilyichev was quoted by local newswire TASS as saying: "The volumes are very big, the Iranians name numbers in billions of dollars.

"The construction cycle is planned not for one year, but for decades."

ISOICO managing director Hamid Rezaeian claimed that the MoU will involve technology transfer, brainstorming of shipping engineers as well as leveraging the Russian company’s international rating agency to meet Iran’s need to create equipments.

Rezaeian said: "Being Russia’s largest shipyard, Krasnye Barrikady is active in the production of ships and vessels for transporting petrochemicals, as well as building oil rigs."

Ilyichev has expressed readiness to dispatch ready-made equipments meant for ship construction to Iran. The equipments, as per the MoU, can be tested in Iran.

Krasnye Barrikady Shipyard, headquartered in Astrakhan, serves in Northern Russia as well. Earlier in December 2012, it had launched the jack-up drilling rig ‘Caspian driller’, ordered by the Chinese Yantai Raffles. It is claimed as being the largest drilling rig.

Much on the lines of this recent agreement, ISOICO had earlier signed an agreement with Hyundai Heavy Industries for the construction of ship repair facilities.