Astivik Shipyard

Working hard in a challenging market

It was a tough year for many and the Caribbean ship repair sector in 2020 certainly had its ups and down. One shipyard working hard in a challenging market is Cartagena-based Astivik Shipyard.

Caribbean Maritime spoke to the yard’s business development manager Cristhian Mar González about current market conditions and how Astivik has had to adapt its working practices in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

First off, Astivik acknowledges that it has been tough. Says Mar González: “Given market demand, Astivik has concentrated its efforts on ship maintenance, ship repair and ship conversion projects. However, we have extensive experience in newbuilds, which includes barges, tugboats, push boats, self-propelled vessels and floating drydocks. These newbuilds have been delivered to companies such as Drummond, Glencore, Seacore, Impala/Trafigura among others. All were built to international standards set down by the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), Lloyd's Register or Bureau Veritas (BV).”

Workload

The yard’s current workload comprises projects for local clients. “We are currently developing a newbuild project for the Colombian gold mining industry, and although the local demand for these types of projects is limited, and companies abroad don’t often see Colombia as a possible source for newbuilds, we want to be internationally recognized – especially with our 48 years of expertise in the field, our certified personnel and our high-quality standards. These, alongside strategic alliances with the world’s leading manufacturers of propulsion and manoeuvring systems, supervision and certification of most IACS member class societies established in Colombia and competitive prices, make us one of the best options for newbuilds in the Caribbean.

Read more...