Cosco Shipyard wins US$470m order from Maersk
Maersk Supply Service, the offshore supply unit of AP Moller-Maersk Group, has ordered vessels from China for the first time in a US$470 million deal as the company seeks to revamp its fleet.
Maersk Supply Service, the offshore supply unit of AP Moller-Maersk Group, has ordered vessels from China for the first time in a US$470 million deal as the company seeks to revamp its fleet.
Cosco Shipyard, the shipbuilding arm of China Ocean Shipping Group, won an order for four subsea supply vessels from the Danish company, putting the price of the vessels at US$117.5 million each.
The deal also includes an option for two more vessels.
Construction will take place at Cosco's shipyard in Dalian, Liaoning province. Delivery is scheduled between the fourth quarter of 2016 and the first quarter of 2017.
"We are reshaping our fleet to focus primarily on anchor handling tug supply vessels and subsea support vessels. In a long-term perspective, we see great potential in these segments," Maersk Supply chief executive Carsten Plougmann Andersen said in a statement.
The vessels can operate up to 3,000 metres underwater.
Maersk Supply declined to elaborate on the customers and areas where the new vessels will be deployed, citing the blackout period before the release of interim results on Tuesday.
The company operates a fleet of 60 vessels, in addition to one subsea and two tug vessels on order with Romanian and Chilean shipyards.
Cosco also has yards in Zhoushan, Nantong, Shanghai, Tianjin and Guangdong.
The company is one of the few shipyards that have weathered a downturn in the industry and turned a profit from building offshore vessels.
