FEBRUARY 14, 2013 — After starting the day with news that it had secured a new contract for the design and construction of an Offshore Subsea Construction Vessel (OSCV) for Solstad Offshore (see earlier story), STX OSV has now followed up by announcing two more OSCV orders from two more Norwegian shipowners, DOF Subsea and Farstad Shipping.

The DOF Subsea order is for the design and construction of a vessel will be of OSCV 12 design, developed by STX OSV in Ålesund, Norway. It will have a total length of approximately 161 meters and a beam of 32 meters. Delivery is scheduled from STX OSV's Søviknes, Norway, shipyard in first quarter 2015. The hull will be delivered from STX OSV Tulcea in Romania.

Neither the shipbuilder nor DOF Subsea disclosed the value of the order.

The Farstad Shipping newbuilding, designed for subsea and IMR (Inspection, Maintenance and Repair) operations, is part of Farstad Shipping's fleet development within the subsea market. The value of the contract amounts to approximately NOK 800 million.

The vessel will be of STX OSV's OSCV 07 design with a total length of 143 meters, beam of 25 meters and a deck area of more than 1,800 sq. m. It is equipped with two offshore cranes, of which the larger one has a lifting capacity of 250 tons. The vessel is arranged for three ROVs (Remote Operating Vehicles) and can accommodate 130 persons. Delivery is scheduled from STX OSV's Langsten shipyard in 1Q 2015. The hull will be delivered from STX OSV Tulcea in Romania.

All of this is good news for Italy's Fincantieri, which last month successfully completed the acquisition of 50.75 percent of STX OSV from STX Europe.