SINOPACIFIC Christens Its Newbuild AHTS ‘SPA80’

SINOPACIFIC Shipbuilding Group (SINOPACIFIC) held a christening ceremony for a newly built AHTS SPA80 at its Zhejiang Shipyard on April 22nd 2014.

Guests from the Export-Import Bank of China, ICBC Financial Leasing Co., Ltd. and BOURBON were present at the ceremony to celebrate the delivery of the new SPA80, which is an embodiment of the successful cooperation between the state banks, ship owners, shipping financial leasing agencies and shipbuilders.

In 2013, BOURBON decided to sell vessels from its fleet and retain them on bareboat charter for a period of 10 years. An operating lease framework agreement was signed with ICBC Financial Leasing Co., Ltd for up to 51 vessels.

Christian Lefevre, CEO of BOURBON, considers this cooperation as an important part of BOURBON’s strategic transformation, “This innovative fleet is designed for effective operations and client satisfaction. Based on this perfect platform, BOURBON would like to establish a long and stable relation of cooperation with ICBC Financial Leasing.”

All ships under this cooperation agreement have been built or will be built by SINOPACIFIC and are, for the most part, vessels from the company’s own brand “SP”: SPA80 AHTS, SPP17 PSV and SPP35 MPSV.

SPA80 was designed by SDA, one of SINOPACIFIC’S in-house design companies. The vessel is a small-sized, high-technology AHTS. All indicators such as safety, reliability, maneuverability, operational efficiency and environmental friendliness onboard the vessel have reached world class level.

The vessel uses an all-electric propulsion system and is equipped with three diesel generator sets, with several thrusters installed both on the bow and stern. Prepared with the Dynamic Positioning Class II capability, the ship also features unmanned engine room control. Such technology guarantees that SPA80 can maintain its excellent reliability and maneuverability even under harsh environments.

SINOPACIFIC has delivered nearly 30 OSV ships in 2013, including the first of the company’s medium-size OSV SPP35 design, which has passed strict tests on key characteristics such as empty vessel weight, speed, vibration and noise and external fire fighting capabilities (Fi-Fi 1), which has earned it approval from ship owners and classification societies alike.

To date, three SPP35 vessels have been delivered by SINOPACIFIC. After the christening ceremony of this SPA80, the guests were invited to visit the fourth SPP35 which shall be completed soon.

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SINOPACIFIC, April 23, 2014