AUGUST 12, 2013 — Vard Holdings Limited has secured contracts with a joint venture of DOF Subsea and Technip for the design and construction of four pipe lay support vessels (PLSVs). Worth a total of some $1.1 billion (NOK 6.5 billion), the contracts are the largest Vard's history.

The DOF Subsea and Technip JV has ordered the newbuildings after receiving orders from Petrobras that will see them work in Brazilian waters for an initial eight years, renewable for a further eight.

Two of the PLSVs will have a 300-ton laying tension capacity and will be built in Brazil with a high national content. The other two vessels will be designed to achieve a 650-ton laying tension capacity, thus enabling the installation of large diameter flexible pipes in ultra-deepwater environments, such as the Brazilian pre-salt.

Under the DOF Subsea/Technip joint venture agreement, Technip will manage flexible pipelay and Norskan S.A., a DOF ASA subsidiary, will be responsible for marine operations.

Mons S. Aase, DOF Subsea's Chief Executive Officer, declared: "The contracts confirm that our co-operation with Technip on the Skandi Vitória and Skandi Niterói have been successful, and reinforces our position as a leading provider of offshore vessels to the Brazilian O&G industry. It comes as a result of our long-term focus on the Brazilian market and is an acknowledgment of the expertise of our employees."

Frédéric Delormel, Technip's Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Subsea, added: "This strategic contract reinforces our subsea leadership in Brazil and our long-term relationship with Petrobras. We are confident that these new state-of-the-art PLSVs, including two with the most important flexible pipelay tension capacity in the world - 650 tons - will be key assets for our client to successfully achieve its projects offshore Brazil."

The 360 ton capacity vessels, of Vard 3 05 design and measuring 151 m x 30 m , will be delivered in 2Q 2016 and 3Q 2016 respectively. The hulls of these vessels will be built at the Vard Tulcea shipyard in Romania and outfitted at Vard Søviknes in Norway.

The other two vessels, of Vard 3 16 design and measuring 139.9 m x 28 m, will be delivered from Vard's Promar shipyard in Brazil, in 4Q 2016 and 2Q 2017 respectively.

Topside equipment for all four ships will be delivered by Huisman of the Netherlands.

Vard CEO and Executive Director Roy Reite commented, "I look forward to working with DOF and Technip on these milestone projects. Vard yards in both Europe and Brazil being chosen to build these vessels illustrates the value of having a global presence when working with international clients, and bringing leading edge technology to new markets."

Vard 3 05 at left below, Vard 3 16 at right