The deals, were signed through ZMI wholly-owned subsidiary Quality Marine Services (QMS) which is also expecting to close a deal worth $150m for two further jack-up accommodation units at an Abu Dhabi-based yard within the next 24 hours.
The contracts, signed at Seatrade Middle East Workboats and Offshore Marine (MEWBOM) in Abu Dhabi, are speculative builds with designs tailored for specific markets in the Middle East, Far East and Africa, and are due for delivery in 2015.
The move by ZMI to order accommodation jack-up rigs in China is the latest chapter in a move by Chinese yards to break into the jack-up rig sector which is dominated by Singapore yards Keppel Offshore & Marine and SembCorp Marine which have a 70% market share in the sector.
The orders add to QMS' existing orderbook of six DP2 OSVs under construction at various yards, including the Sea Conquest, a 4,000hp DP2, FiFi1 OSV due for delivery next week.
Also announced at MEWBOM, ZMI has partnered with long-established Italian subsea specialists Impresub, to provide saturation diving, ROV support, trenching and survey support services through a Middle East joint venture. To support the agreement, ZMI will introduce two specialist subsea vessels into its fleet, adding to its eight existing OSVs.
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