New deepwater semi for ENSCO

ENSCO International has finalized the construction contract for a new utra-deepwater semisubmersible rig, to be named ENSCO 8505.

Keppel FELS shipyard in Singapore will build the rig at a total project cost of around US$537 million. Delivery is expected in the first half of 2012. ENSCO 8505 will be ENSCO's sixth ultra-deepwater rig in the ENSCO 8500 series and part of the company's seven-rig deepwater fleet. Four of the ENSCO 8500 series rigs are contracted for term work beginning upon delivery. The ENSCO 8500 series semisubmersibles are capable of drilling in up to 8.500 feet (2,591 m) of water and feature offline pipe handling capability. The rigs have increased drilling capacity, improved automatic station keeping ability and larger living quarters than ENSCO's previous deepwater design ENSCO 7500. Daniel W. Rabun, ENSCO's chairman, president and chief executive officer, commented: "We expect demand for ultra-deepwater equipment will continue to grow, and that expansion of our 8500 Series deepwater fleet offers an attractive opportunity to participate in this important market. We are excited about the opportunity to again work with Keppel FELS as we pursue a prominent position in deepwater drilling."

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GulfMark Offshore to Acquire Rigdon Marine

GulfMark Offshore, Inc. announced it had entered into a definitive purchase agreement to acquire Rigdon Marine Corporation, a major operator of technologically advanced offshore supply vessels.

The purchase will add the RMC management team, an experienced group of mariners and a fleet of modern vessels designed to support the expanding demand in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. The combined company will initially operate 90 vessels with an additional 16 vessels under construction for delivery through 2010. Geographically diversified, the combined fleet will have 24 vessels in the domestic Gulf of Mexico bringing the total fleet to 34 vessels based in the Americas, 42 vessels based in the North Sea and 14 in Southeast Asia. The combination of GulfMark and Rigdon Marine will create an organization of over 2,000 valued employees and 90 vessels, capable of working in virtually all OSV markets, with an additional 16 vessels of several different designs under construction. Nine of the vessels will deliver between the middle of 2008 and the middle of 2009 and the remaining seven between mid 2009 and mid 2010.

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STX shipbuilding bags $126m bulker order

STX Shipbuilding has won a $126m (129bn won) order for the construction of two bulk carriers for delivery by May 2009 to an un-named European shipping company.

The shipbuilder also said it has received a 259bn won contract from a European shipping company to build two very large ore carriers. Shipbuilders in South Korea are working through order backlogs stretching into 2012 to meet rising global demand.

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