Rolls-Royce has announced orders from a variety of international customers for its offshore ship designs and equipment worth more than £60m.

The contracts, which include five Rolls-Royce UT Design vessels and propulsion equipment packages for research and seismic survey vessels, were announced at the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston, Texas, one of the world’s leading industry events.

In what is the 40th anniversary of the industry leading UT Design, the five ships ordered this week are two UT717 CDX platform supply vessels (PSV) for Norwegian customer Island Offshore and two larger UT755 PSVs for Aberdeen based Fletcher Shipping. These contracts a worth £14m and £11.5m to Rolls-Royce respectively. The fifth Rolls-Royce vessel is a UT782 WP - an advanced design for a large anchor handling tug supply (AHTS) vessel for ship owner Secunda Canada LP in a contract worth £16m. This is the first order for a wave piercing design in the Americas, and the vessel’s hull has been optimised for the demanding scope and harsh North Atlantic conditions.

A range of Rolls-Royce propulsion equipment will also feature on three vessels for China Oilfield Services Ltd. (COSL), worth £19m. Two deep sea research vessels (ST 259) and one seismic vessel (ST318) will feature Rolls-Royce engines, thrusters and control systems. The vessels have been designed by Norwegian company Skipsteknisk and will be built at the CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Shipyard in China.

John Knudsen, Rolls-Royce President Offshore, said: “We are delighted to be able to announce a range of contracts with our Offshore customers, demonstrating not only the continuing popularity of our own UT vessel design, now in its 40th year, but also our ability to work closely with other designers in providing sophisticated systems ideally suited to their own designs.”

Press Release, May 09, 2014; Image: Rolls-Royce