Slok Shipping Nigeria Orders Four PSVs from Sinopacific

Slok Shipping Nigeria Orders Four PSVs from Sinopacific

The SINOPACIFIC Shipbuilding Group has signed a newbuilding contract of 4 SPP35 platform supply vessels (PSV) and a Letter of Intention of 2 large SPP50 PSVs with SLOK Nigeria Ltd. The six vessels are scheduled to be delivered by the end of 2014.

This marks the first time that independently designed offshore supply vessel (OSV) products of SINOPACIFIC direct selling to the African market, signifying the growing maturity and acceptance of the SP brand within the market. Over the past two years, SINOPACIFIC has successfully sold 20 similar vessels.

Slok Shipping Nigeria Orders Four PSVs from Sinopacific

SINOPACIFIC is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of OSVs and enjoys a leading position in terms of order backlog globally. As of July 20, 2012, 119 OSVs delivered by SINOPACIFIC have served extensively in the world’s most active oil exploitation regions, such as the North Sea, West Africa, the Gulf of Mexico and Southeast Asia.

In recent years, the Company has succeeded in developing 5 new OSV types of the SP series and these vessels successively went into construction. Some types were completed and delivered. As two types among them, SPP35 and SPP50 are medium- and large-sized PSVs respectively. Each ship has reached world leading standard in terms of safety, operating efficiency and environmental protection, etc. The design for the new vessels employs fully diesel electric propulsion system and applies the most advanced efficient rudder propeller driven by variable frequency power, combined with the dynamic positioning II system (DP-II), to effectively enhance the vessel handling and reliability of vessel positioning. Compared with the design of similar vessels, these two types feature a more reasonable cargo tanks layout, a clear advantage in deck area and loading capacity, and a larger mud and deck loading capacity than any model of its kind. In regards to environmental protection, the design indicators would also meet the requirements of the highest standard of “Clean Ship” classification.

Reportedly, the two newly contracted types will be built at SINOPACIFIC’s Dayang Shipyard. “Dayang has been focusing on efficiently building bulk carriers. This time, the building of high value-added OSVs is a major strategic initiative taken by SINOPACIFIC to transform and upgrade Dayang in the downturn of the current shipbuilding market,” said Wang Jianding, general manager of Dayang Shipbuilding, “In the future, Dayang will continue to build upon the Group’s design and market advantages to adjust our product mix accordingly, fully leverage our strength in production capacity and manufacturing efficiency, to ensure it to become one of the manufacturing bases which SINOPACIFIC will use to carry out its OSV strategy – leadership in niche market.”

Africa is one of the major oil producing regions in the world and has experienced a rapid growth in oil production in recent years. SLOK is a leading company in the upstream service of oil and gas supply in Nigeria, and also the first African client to order medium- and large-sized PSVs from China. “The cooperation with SLOK symbolizes that we have sufficient advantages and conditions to implement the relevant market strategies in West Africa,” stated Simon Liang, President and CEO of SINOPACIFIC, “We are capable of combining the innovation of business with leading technologies to maintain our leading position in the OSV segment.”

[mappress]

World Maritime News Staff, July 23, 2012; Image: Sinopacific