Keppel to Build Two Dredgers for Van Oord

Keppel Offshore & Marine's (Keppel O&M) wholly-owned subsidiary Keppel Singmarine Pte Ltd (Keppel Singmarine) has secured contracts from Van Oord to build two high-specification Trailing Suction Hopper Dredgers (TSHDs).

The two dredgers are expected to be completed in 4Q 2020 and 2Q 2021 respectively. As part of the contracts, Van Oord has an option to order a third dredger to be exercised within one year.

When completed, the two TSHDs will each have a hopper capacity of 10,500 cubic meters. Built to the requirements of classification society, Bureau Veritas, the two dredgers will be equipped with dual-fuel systems capable of running on LNG.

Abu Bakar, Managing Director (Gas & Specialised Vessels), Keppel O&M, said, "We are pleased to be awarded these contracts by our new partner Van Oord. Keppel is currently constructing five other dredgers, and we are able to build on our experience and capabilities to meet Van Oord's needs. This new order for dredgers of high specifications attests to our strength as a specialised shipbuilder."

"By leveraging our design and construction capabilities, we are able to provide customers from different industries with tailored solutions for ships of various specifications and functions."

Jaap de Jong, Staff Director, Ship Management Department at Van Oord, said, "We are pleased to work with Keppel on these modern and environmentally-friendly dredgers which will strengthen our mid-class dredger fleet as well as our presence in the region. Last month we already launched our first LNG powered crane vessel. The TSHDs will be the first LNG hopper dredgers in our fleet. We look forward to this partnership with Keppel as we adopt LNG as a marine fuel to reduce our global carbon footprint."

TSHDs are mainly used for dredging loose and soft soils such as sand, gravel, silt or clay. The dredged material can be deposited on the seabed through bottom doors or discharged through a floating pipeline to shore and used for land reclamation.

The above contracts are not expected to have a material impact on the net tangible assets or earnings per share of Keppel Corporation Limited for the current financial year.