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Keppel’s CAN DO drillship – still looking for a customer

Image: Keppel O&M Keppel_CAN_DO_drillship.JPG
Remember Keppel Offshore & Marine’s ill-timed, speculative attempt to break into the offshore drillship market with the CAN DO? Well nearly a decade on from the decision to build the drillship Keppel is still looking for a customer.

As Keppel Corp unwinds its offshore and marine business with a definitive agreement on a merger of Keppel O&M with rival Sembcorp Marine expected by the end of the month, unsold legacy rigs, largely from cancelled contracts have been placed in a separate Asset Co. where Keppel is either trying to sell or charter the unwanted rigs.

These include Keppel O&M’s foray into the drillship market with the CAN DO – a name that was supposed to embody the spirit of the Singapore rigbuilder. The question of the status of the CAN DO drillship came up in the Q+A at Keppel Corp’s first quarter briefing on Thursday. Listing out four recently terminated B Class jack-up rigs, contracts with Borr Drilling and Grupo R, Chris Ong , CEO of Keppel O&M said: “There is the CAN DO drillship too, and of course, the Awilco rigs that were also terminated.”

As a little refresher the CAN DO drillship project dates back to 2013. While at the time Keppel held world leading position in the jack-up rig market, the more expensive drillship sector was dominated by Korean yards. At the time both Singapore and Korean yards were riding a huge boom in the offshore marine market.

In December 2013 Seatrade Maritime News wrote about Keppel’s decision to build the CAN DO speculatively noting that the Singapore yard group had been marketing a drillship design for a couple of years, launching the specific CAN DO design earlier in 2013.

Keppel begins work on prototype of new drillship

Then Chief Operating Officer and CEO-Designate of Keppel O&M, Chow Yew Yuen, commented: “Since the launch of our design earlier this year, we have received very encouraging response from the market, and we have decided to start constructing the first drillship to this design. We believe the drillship meets the high functionality, safety and cost-effective requirements of the industry.”

The drillship build was reported completed in 2016, by which time the offshore marine market had long since undergone a spectacular crash. Meanwhile, flagged with Liberia, the ill-timed and unloved CAN DO drillship is it seems still looking for a customer.