Keppel expands capacity with Nantong Shipyard

Keppel Offshore & Marine Limited (Keppel O&M) has officially opened its new wholly-owned subsidiary, Keppel Nantong Shipyard Co Ltd (Keppel Nantong), in Nantong, Jiangsu province, China. The official ceremony was marked by the keel laying of two AHTS for Whitesea Shipping & Supply LLC (WSS) company based in United Arab Emirates and a harbour tugboat for Singapore-based Keppel Smit Towage Pte Ltd (KST).

These craft are among the 18 offshore support vessels and tugboats that Keppel Nantong is currently building for a broad spectrum of worldwide clientele. The yard has a capacity to build up to 25 such vessels on its 16-hectare site.

Choo Chiau Beng, Chairman and CEO of Keppel O&M, said: “The addition of this Nantong facility has increased Keppel?s newbuilding capacity in meeting the growing demand for specialised vessels to serve the offshore field development market and growth in LNG terminals and maritime ports. China is attractive as a cost efficient and competitive shipbuilding centre. We intend to increase our investment in Nantong and optimise Keppel Nantong?s facilities to take on more and higher value projects.”

Acquired by Keppel O&M in May 2005, the principal activities of Keppel Nantong are in the engineering and construction of specialised vessels such as AHTS vessels and tugboats.