Technip has entered a long-term charter agreement for a newbuild offshore construction vessel with North Sea Shipping. The charter will be for a period of five or seven years, plus a five-year extension option, with a further option to purchase the vessel.

The vessel is specially designed and equipped to suit the Norwegian installation market. This advanced subsea construction vessel has a length of 142 m (465 ft) and width of 27 m (88 ft), and is equipped with a 400-ton crane and a 2,000-ton carousel for storage of flexible pipe below deck. The vessel will be built at Bergen Group BMV AS in Bergen, Norway, and delivered in 2014.

The new vessel will work predominantly in the North Sea and is also suitable for deepwater operations worldwide.