Rolls-Royce celebrates 400th offshore vessel design sale

Tuesday, 17 September 2002

An order marking the 400th sale of one of the most popular ship designs in the world's offshore oil and gas industry has been placed with Rolls-Royce.

The UT 700 series of vessels first entered service in the North Sea back in 1974, and since then the ships have been built in 23 countries worldwide. Over 100 UT 700 orders have been placed in the past four years alone, reflecting continued strong market demand.

The ship design was pioneered by the Norwegian marine company Ulstein which became part of Rolls-Royce's marine business through the acquisition of Vickers in 1999.

The 400th contract has been placed for an 88 metre-long UT 722 LX anchor handling vessel that also incorporates a major Rolls-Royce equipment package. In addition to carrying out the design work, Rolls-Royce is supplying the main 20,400hp diesel engines, the propulsion and maneuvering system, powerful deck winches and automation equipment.

The ship is being built by the Norwegian shipbuilder Langsten Slip & Batbyggeri and will be delivered to the Norwegian investment company Island Offshore II KS at the turn of the year, to be operated by Havila. The 300th vessel was also built at Langsten.

Saul Lanyado, Rolls-Royce President - Marine, said: "This is another milestone in the UT-Design success story. Offshore fleet owners recognise the benefits of our design and equipment being integrated as a packaged solution."

The 400 vessels on order or in service are made up of more than 40 different designs in the UT 700 series. These have been developed at different times either to meet the general anchor handling, towing and platform supply needs of the industry, or to meet owners' specific requirements, including some of the most complex and powerful offshore service vessels in the world. Apart from pure offshore vessels, UT-Designs cover other specialised types, such as seismic survey ships and cable laying and maintenance vessels.