Swire Pacific Offshore Holdings Limited (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, J.B. Rae-Smith and the President of Qingdao Qianjin Shipyard, Mr Ming Shiwei, and is the first time that the Singapore-headquartered provider of specialist support services to the global offshore oil and gas industry has placed an order with a Mainland shipyard.

The new 4,800 horsepower, 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 programme, 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.

Commenting on the contract, Swire Pacific Executive Director, Philip Chen, said: "Swire Pacific Offshore has selected Qingdao Qianjin Shipyard to build its latest new buildings after an exhaustive global search, and given that SPO's fleet already includes some of the most state-of-the-art vessels operating anywhere in the industry, the decision reflects our confidence in the increasing sophistication and quality of workmanship available in Mainland shipbuilding yards."

About Swire Pacific Offshore:

Established in 1975, Swire Pacific Offshore is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hong Kong-listed Swire Pacific Limited. The company is a leading service provider to the offshore oil and gas industry, owning and operating a fleet of over 60 vessels with another 20 vessels on order for delivery between 2008-2011. The fleet includes Anchor Handling Tug Supply Vessels, Platform Supply Vessels, Anchor Handling Tugs, Seismic Survey Vessels, Safety Standby Vessels, ROV support/Dive Support Vessels, and Maintenance/Accommodation Support Vessels. SPO is fully equipped to support a wide range of offshore activities including drilling, production, exploration, pipe-lay, sub-sea construction and FPSO operations. Headquartered in Singapore, SPO has regional offices in Australia, Azerbaijan, Brunei, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, India, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Qatar, Scotland and the United Arab Emirates, and operates vessels in every major oil exploration region outside of North America.