JUNE 1, 2012—Norway's Ulstein has signed a NOK 800 million ($131.8 million) contract for the delivery of a high capacity subsea construction vessel based on its SX121 design to GC Rieber Shipping, Bergen, Norway. The contract contains an option for a second vessel. The newbuild will be delivered in the first quarter of 2014.

“Subsea is one of our focus areas, and we will deliver a state-of-the-art offshore construction vessel (OCV) that will serve the shipowner well in the years to come,” says Gunvor Ulstein, CEO in Ulstein Group.

“Norway is world-leading when it comes to design and quality of specialized offshore vessels," says Irene W. Basilli, CEO of GC Rieber Shipping. "GC Rieber Shipping is deliberate in its efforts in the most demanding areas of the offshore market, and I am confident that we will get a top class vessel from Ulstein.”

The ship is an Ulstein SX121 design and will be equipped with a DP3 Class dynamic positioning system.

The subsea construction vessel is 130 meters long and 25 meters wide with a top speed of 14.5 knots. It will be equipped with a large active heave compensated offshore crane with 250 ton capacity at 14 meters outreach and with the winch placed below deck. The crane will mainly be used for lifting and lowering heavy equipment from and to the sea bottom.

The vessel will carry two ROVs; one is to be launched from the starboard side and the other through a moonpool.

The ship will have a large cargo deck for OCV work and will have diesel-electric propulsion and three main azimuth thrusters. The vessel can accommodate 130 persons and will be constructed in accordance with the latest international environmental regulations.

The vessel will be prepared for a VLS tower (vertical lay system) and a 2,500 ton rotating carousel below deck, to be used for future pipe laying operations. For that reason, the vessel is also equipped with two moonpools, one for future VLS and one for launching the ROV.

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