Swissco signs S$3.9 million worth of charter contracts

Contracts, Tenders and Rates - November 28, 2007

Swissco International Ltd has announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Swissco Offshore Pte Ltd has recently signed charter contracts worth S$3.9 million, which include options for two of its smaller offshore support vessels.

The first contract which has just commenced is for a 28m aluminum crew/utility vessel for operations in the Gulf of Thailand. The charter period is for a minimum of 14 months, with an option for further extension. This is the second such vessel which the Group had recently ordered from Australia, with the primary role of transporting equipment and personnel to offshore location in Thailand.

The second contract is for a 36m offshore utility vessel for operations in Indonesia. The minimum contract period is for 12 months with an option for extension. The vessel is expected to operate in support of platforms and Floating Storage tanker within the client’s offshore field.

Alex Yeo, CEO of Swissco, said: “Our focus in providing our clients with our new fleet of vessels to meet their offshore requirements has enabled us to secure longer term work. We expect such continual development of our fleet composition to contribute to our goal of widening the range of services provided.”

Mr Yeo further explained: “We have already established ourselves as vessels provider to the shallow water requirements. With our sound fleet renewal and expansion business model in place, we are and will continue to expand our capabilities beyond our current role.”

These new vessels are expected to be funded from a combination of internal funds and bank borrowings. The Group presently operates a fleet of 27 vessels and expects to take delivery of three in the rest of 2007, 10 in 2008 and four in 2009.