Keppel Singmarine Pte Ltd (Keppel Singmarine), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd (Keppel O&M), has delivered a multi-purpose ice-class vessel to New Orient Marine Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of Luxembourg-based Maritime Construction Services SA (Maritime Construction Services).
Named MPV Everest, the vessel was completed with an excellent safety record.
Mr Abu Bakar Mohd Nor, Managing Director (Gas & Specialised Vessels), Keppel O&M, and Managing Director of Keppel Singmarine, said, "We are pleased to deliver this state-of-the-art multi-purpose ice-class vessel, built based on our proprietary design, to the highest satisfaction of Maritime Construction Services. This is the eleventh ice-class vessel we have built and it extends our track record as the leading shipyard in designing and building ice-class vessels."
Built to the proprietary design of Keppel O&M's ship design and development arm, Marine Technology Development (MTD), MPV Everest can operate in ambient temperature as low as minus 30 degree Celsius. It will have an Ice Class Arc 5 notation and capabilities such as Class 3 dynamic positioning and navigating in ice of up to 1 metre thickness.
Mr Knut Reinertz, Director of Maritime Construction Services, said, "The addition of this highly versatile, robust and high specification multi-purpose ice-class vessel to our fleet will enable us to provide a wide variety of value-added services to our customers. It is designed for efficient and high-performance operation even in harsh Arctic and cold climate conditions. This is a result of our experience as an operator and charterer combined with Keppel's expertise in specialised ice-class vessels. I am confident the vessel will be a success when deployed in cold or warm climate regions."
MPV Everest's versatility allows it to carry out subsea repair and construction activities at 3000 metres of water depth, well intervention, diving support services with an 18-men twin-bell system, fire-fighting and emergency rescue operations, as well as towing and the provision of supplies in Arctic terrain.
In the last decade, Keppel O&M has completed 10 ice-class specialised shipbuilding projects, excluding the MPV Everest. These include four ice-class Anchor Handling Tug Supply/rescue vessels, two icebreakers, two ice-class supply vessels, an ice-class multipurpose duty-rescue vessel and an ice-class Floating Storage and Offloading vessel.
Source: Keppel Singmarine