A toast for a project well done – the vessel, Sea Apache, was completed on time and on budget.

Keppel Offshore & Marine Limited (Keppel O&M), through its wholly-owned subsidiary Keppel Singmarine Pte Ltd, has delivered the first project for the year 2008 on time and with an excellent safety record.

Keppel Singmarine received a bonus of US$10,000 for the timely delivery of Sea Apache, a 139-tonne bollard pull Anchor Handling Tug/Supply (AHTS) vessel, to Gulfmark Offshore Inc. with zero loss time incident.

Its completion adds on to Keppel O&M’s sterling track record of on time, on budget deliveries.

Mr Choo Chiau Beng, Chairman/CEO of Keppel Offshore & Marine, said, “We are pleased to announce that all our major projects for 2007 were delivered on time to our customers despite the tight labour market and equipment supply crunch.

“Credit goes to the forward planning and hard work of our people at all levels and our sub-contractors. Thanks to our customers and our vendors for their support. Looking ahead, we remain committed to our promise of on-time, on-budget completion of high quality projects for our customers.

Meeting the expectation of its customers has been a motto for Keppel Offshore & Marine, whose vision is to be the preferred provider of choice for its customers.

At the naming ceremony of the Sea Apache held recently, Mr Martin Watts, Area Director for Gulf Marine Far East, a subsidiary of Gulfmark, said, “Keppel has once again achieved a first class production of our vessel. The Sea Apache is the second delivery of a new class of vessels that we are very proud to add to our fleet. We are expecting four more deliveries this year, all from Keppel Singmarine.”

Mr Hoe Eng Hock, Executive Director of Keppel Singmarine, said, “This vessel is delivered well on schedule despite late delivery of key equipment. Her performance during sea trials has also exceeded the design and contractual requirements for bollard pull and speed. We are very glad to play a part towards building Gulfmark’s fleet of over 60 offshore support vessels, and its continued expansion into the Southeast Asian offshore market.”

Sea Apache is the second of a fleet of six vessels ordered by Gulfmark, which provides marine transportation services to the energy industry, primarily in the North Sea, Southeast Asia and the Americas. Designed by Marine Technology Development (MTD), the ship R&D arm of Keppel O&M, she will be deployed in South East Asia.

Keppel O&M, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Keppel Corporation Limited, is a global leader in offshore rigs, shiprepair and conversion, and specialised shipbuilding. Keppel O&M's near market, near customer strategy is bolstered by a global network of 20 yards in the Asia Pacific, Gulf of Mexico, Brazil, the Caspian Sea, Middle East and the North Sea regions. Integrating the experience and expertise of its yards worldwide, the group aims to be a provider of choice and a partner in solutions for the offshore and marine industry.