In conjunction with the latest orders, Nam Cheong on Friday in Singapore officially launched its first proprietary design of its NCA80E series, a 64.8 metres, 80 tonnes bollard pull diesel-electric AHTS vessel.
Bumi Armada and Geooffshore each took up four vessels with an option for four more, Vega Offshore ordered two, and Sofield Marine & Offshore and Opstad Group took one each. The OSVs will likely be deployed in the North Sea, West Africa and Brazil.
The DP2-capable, shallow water-based NCA80E vessels boast an energy efficient design from the hull lines and is equipped with selected electric drives which lead to lower fuel consumption without a loss in power to the electric drives.
The new AHTS vessels were constructed as part of Nam Cheong’s build-to-stock models and they are scheduled for delivery in phases starting from 2016.
Including the latest 12 firm orders, Nam Cheong has sold a total of 37 OSVs this year to date, increasing from the sale fo 24 OSVs last year, which was itself a record high.
“Besides the superior performance of the NCA80E vessel, we are also mindful of the need to incorporate environmentally friendly features such as electric propulsion that leads to lower exhaust emissions that helps to reduce the industry’s carbon footprint,” Leong said.
“We are working towards our ambition of being the largest OSV builder in the world by 2017,” he added. Leong revealed to Seatrade Global that the company has a design roadmap to achieve the amibitious goal, including the focus on fuel efficiency and fuel management.
“On the outlook, although we have seen recent volatile oil prices, we believe our strong reputation within the highly resilient shallow water segment remains robust as we continue to see good demand from customers for our vessels,” Leong said.
Nam Cheong is exhibiting at Seatrade Middle East Maritime on Stand F13.
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