Swire Blue Ocean A/S Signs Key Contract for Provision of Installation Vessel Services to Bilfinger

Swire Blue Ocean A/S is pleased to announce it has signed a key contract with engineering and services group Bilfinger for the provision of an installation vessel to support the installation of 72 foundations on the Sandbank Offshore Windpark.

Sandbank is a joint partnership between Vattenfall (51 percent) and the city of Munich's public utility company (49 percent). Seventy-two foundations will be installed in the seabed with Swire Blue Ocean's installation vessel in waters that are up to 34 meters deep and 90 kilometers west of Island of Sylt in the German North Sea. Installation activity is scheduled to commence in 2015.

"Bilfinger is looking forward to install the foundations at Sandbank with Swire Blue Ocean's offshore installation vessels. We have followed the company's ambition and vessel building program closely in the past as well as their excellent performance on earlier offshore projects." said Bilfinger Offshore Managing Director, Moritz Horn. "And for good reasons we are convinced to have contracted the most suitable installation vessels for the Sandbank project."

"Swire Blue Ocean is delighted to be working with Bilfinger on the upcoming Sandbank Offshore Windpark. This contract will add to the pipeline of new projects for Swire Blue Ocean's two windfarm installation vessels, Pacific Osprey and Pacific Orca. This partnership is significant as it reflects that our continuous effort to deliver operational excellence through our assets and crews has been well-received by the industry. We look forward to working with Bilfinger to deliver the project safely, efficiently and successfully," said Swire Blue Ocean General Manager & Director, Lars Blicher.

Since their entry into service in 2013, Swire Blue Ocean's two windfarm installation vessels have been deployed on several windfarm construction projects and oil & gas decommissioning projects. Projects in 2014 include the completion of the foundation installation campaign by Pacific Orca for Borkum Riffgrund 1 for Dong Energy and the installation of wind turbine generators on Dan Tysk Offshore Windfarm by Pacific Osprey for Vattenfall, amongst others. Both vessels have also recorded impressive installation cycle times during these respective campaigns.

To download this image and a selection of photographs, please refer to the Swire Blue Ocean website, http://www.swireblueocean.com/.

About Swire Blue Ocean (SBO)

Headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, Swire Blue Ocean (SBO) supports the installation of offshore wind farms. The tag line "Difficult Jobs, Difficult Places, Safely" accurately reflects SBO's approach in the offshore wind industry. SBO's willingness to take on challenging work is never compromised by the company's over-riding principle of doing this work safely.