Keppel on Track to Deliver Derrick Pipelay Vessel to Global Industries

Keppel Singmarine Pte Ltd, the specialized shipbuilding arm of Keppel Offshore & Marine Limited (Keppel O&M), is on schedule to deliver GLOBAL 1200, the first of two new generation derrick pipelay vessels to Global Industries.

Mr John Reed, CEO of Global Industries, said, "The construction of subsea pipelines is expected to intensify globally in tandem with the increasing number of exploration and production activities in deeper and more remote frontiers.

"At Global Industries, we are in position to meet the market's needs for reliable and advanced solutions with a new fleet of two pipelayers, GLOBAL 1200 and 1201, being built at Keppel Singmarine in Singapore.

"We are very pleased to take delivery of our first vessel, which has been completed with a perfect safety record. We are confident that our win-win partnership with an established shipbuilder such as Keppel Singmarine, will strengthen our position as a core provider of innovative solutions in the deepwater sector."

Designed to set new benchmarks of excellence in pipelaying operations, GLOBAL 1200 comes with a state-of-the-art pipelay system and has the capability of operating in waters as deep as 3,000 meters. This dynamically-positioned S-lay vessel can be swiftly and economically deployed in offshore destinations worldwide .She is equipped with three tensioners of 125 tonnes each capable of laying pipes up to 63 inches in diameter and at a speed of 350 lengths of pipes per day.The vessel is designed to meet the stringent standard in safety and stability required by IMO SPS codes.

More than three million incident-free man-hours were clocked on the construction of this massive 162 meter-long vessel.

GLOBAL 1200 was named by Lady Sponsor, Mrs. Kay Doré, spouse of Mr William Dore, who is the founder of Global Industries, at Keppel Singmarine today.

Mr Tong Chong Heong, CEO of Keppel Offshore & Marine, said, "The successful delivery of GLOBAL 1200 demonstrates Keppel Singmarine's ability and versatility to engineer and construct a variety of advanced vessels for all offshore frontiers. But more importantly, the results attest to excellent teamwork that share with our valued customer Global Industries.

"We strive to complete the second vessel with even better results, we also look forward to take our partnership with Global Industries from strength to strength."

Keppel Singmarine is currently constructing the second vessel, GLOBAL 1201, for Global Industries and this vessel is scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2011.