JULY 26, 2013 — Malaysia's Coastal Contracts Bhd reports that its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Coastal Offshore (Labuan) Pte Ltd and Thaumas Marine Ltd have collectively secured shipbuilding contracts for the sale of five Anchor Handling Tug Supply (AHTS) vessels , a 300 person Accommodation Work Barge and an 85 m Subsea Support/Maintenance Vessel for an aggregate value of approximately RM425 million (about US$133 million).

Five of the vessels were sold to new customers from Southeast Asia and Africa, and two vessels were sold to regular customers.

The 85 m Subsea Support/Maintenance Vessel is one of Group's  high-end products. It is specifically designed to transport liquid cargo and equipment, move men and materials between platforms, and for external fire fighting.

The 300 Accommodation Work Barge is designed to accommodate up to 300 work personnel and crew in the offshore work site. One of its main functions is to provide a better workplace for the offshore workers.

These vessels are scheduled for delivery during 2013 and 2014.

"Future prospects for the OSV sector look to be positive in the near future, underpinned by stable oil prices and a favorable oil and gas market outlook," says M r Ng Chin Heng, the Executive Chairman of Coastal."We believe that the oil and gas industry will continue to provide opportunities within the OSV market. Moving forward, greater emphasis will be placed on constructing more technologically advanced and deepwater-capable OSVs that can withstand harsher environment as Coastal Group seeks to broaden its product offering and scale up its shipbuilding value chain."