Keppel announces new contracts to wrap up a good 2011
Keppel Offshore & Marine subsidiaries Keppel Singmarine and Keppel Verolme have announced newbuilding and upgrade contracts worth a total of S$150 million.
Keppel Singmarine has received an order for a 91m container ship and three 4,000dwt bulk ore/fuel carriers for Papua New Guinea customer Ok Tedi Mining, while Dutch repair yard Keppel Verolme will undertake an upgrade to a semi-submersible drilling rig for Italian customer Saipem.
The container vessel to be built by Keppel Singmarine will be capable of carrying 236TEU of containers or of loading 3,000 tonnes of copper concentrate, while the three small bulkers will each be able to carry 4,000 tonnes of copper concentrate or 1.9 million litres of bulk diesel fuel. All four vessels are scheduled for delivery in the second quarter of 2013.
Keppel Verolme will upgrade and carry out maintenance on the semisubmersible drilling rig, Scarabeo 6 for long-term customer Saipem. The vessel is expected to arrive at the yard in mid-2012 for a period of six months. Scheduled work includes upgrading drilling capabilities to a water depth of 1,200m, fabrication and installation of various deck extensions, and renewal of traction winches, cable spooling winches and double riser tensioners. A new storage area for risers will be constructed and new sponsons and blisters will be installed to accommodate the new winches as well as enhance buoyancy and stability. The maintenance programme will include refurbishment of the accommodation.
Chow Yew Yuen, managing director of Keppel O&M, said, "With these contracts, our new orders for the year to date has reached a record high of some S$10 billion, with deliveries extending to 2015. It reflects the confidence of global customers in the capabilities of our yards across the Keppel O&M group.”
