China’s Cosco has an order book currently standing at US $8.4 billion with deliveries up until 2017, but says its offshore marine segment will face greater competition in the current lower oil price environment and weaker economic growth.

In 2014 the group won work including nine bulk carriers, eight platform supply vessels, four emergency response/rescue/field support vessels, four subsea supply vessels, one jackup rig, one accommodation barge, one floating accommodation unit and one module carrier.

Related to the DP3 Deepwater Drillship project, Cosco confirmed that a payment earlier last year of US $110 million was refunded to the shipowner, as well as $8.1 million in interest.

In October last year the yard also revealed that Sevan Drilling and Cosco Qidong had agreed to defer the delivery date of the Sevan Developer for a year with options exercisable at 6-month intervals, to extend the delivery date up to a total of 36 months from 15 October 2014. It was also agreed that while construction of the Sevan Developer continues at the yard during the deferred period, Sevan Drilling is able to continue to market the unit.

The Cosco group itself achieved a net profit of $20.9 million on turnover of $4.3 billion in 2014, a rise in turnover of 21.5% compared to the previous year.

Earlier this year it also confirmed that the management of Cosco Nantong decided to discontinue the Octabuoy hull and topside module project with ATP Oil and Gas (UK) Limited (see DI, 19 January 2015, page 9). This resulted in a one-off charge of Sing $91.4 million in the financial year 2014, it added.