Swire Orders New Offshore Vessels

Swire Pacific Offshore Holdings (SPO) has signed an agreement with Qingdao Qianjin Shipyard, Qingdao, to build eight new "P" Class Anchor Handling Tug Supply vessels (AHTS) for delivery in 2010 and 2011. The agreement was signed on 24th January by SPO's Managing Director.

The new 4,800 hp, IMT957-design vessels will be 57 metres long, with a bollard pull of 60 metric tons; the first pair of AHTS is scheduled for delivery in August 2010, with the remaining pairs of vessels delivering at four-monthly intervals thereafter. The contract, which is worth in the region of US$100 million, completes the major part of an ongoing fleet replacement program, and when the last of these eight new vessels is delivered in 2011, the wholly owned Swire Pacific subsidiary will have replaced 24 of its older vessels, and increased its fleet size to 86 vessels, with an average age of 11.