Western Australian (WA) ship builder Strategic Marine has signed a contract with repeat client Offshore Plant Hire for the construction of a 24 meter heavy duty offshore cargo catamaran.
The catamaran will be built at Strategic Marine's Singapore facility which is nearing the end of a major expansion program which will see the shipyard more than double its capacity. The vessel will be completed in the first quarter of 2013 and is expected to operate in WA’s North West. The contract follows the delivery of a 27 meter work barge to Offshore Plant Hire earlier in 2012. Designed by Australian company Global Marine Design, the vessel will service the burgeoning energy and resources sector and be used to transport cargo and personnel to and from inshore and offshore projects in the region.
Strategic Marine Chief Marketing Officer Terry O'Connor said he was extremely encouraged by the trend of winning repeat contracts with highly valued clients like Offshore Plant Hire. "It demonstrates confidence in our ability to deliver quality products," Mr O'Connor said. "Australia is one of our focus markets and continues to provide increased opportunities in vessel construction, heavy fabrication and engineering projects, as well as providing supply base and
maritime logistic support to local markets, which is all part of our diversification strategy.
"Our board of directors are committed to this strategy, which will provide Strategic Marine with a more robust and flexible business model capable of tackling the challenging international market and economic forces we have all experienced over the past 12 months. "I am pleased to say, that we have had an outstanding second quarter, signing multiple contracts and adding a total of 12 new vessels to our order book. Several of these contracts will be the subject of future announcements."
This latest announcement follows contracts awarded to Strategic Marine for fabrication and design work at John Holland’s coal seam gas (CSG) operations in Queensland on the QLNG and GLNG gas terminal projects and another to build pontoon structures for the Sydney Harbour Wharf Upgrade project.