Mermaid Maritime secures new 2-year contract worth US$50 million

MAINBOARD-LISTED Mermaid Maritime (Mermaid), announced on Friday that it has secured a two-year contract for its dive support vessel, Mermaid Commander, to provide subsea construction support in the Gulf of Thailand.

The subsea and drilling services provider for the offshore oil and gas industry, revealed that the contract is for a repeat international fabrication and installation contractor whose end customer is a major international upstream oil and gas operator.

The contract has an estimated value of US$50 million. Scheduled to commence in April 2015, the contract duration will be more than 130 days per year for 2015 and 2016, serving all of the customer's campaign in the Gulf of Thailand.

The award of the new contract represents the 10th and 11th consecutive years that Mermaid has undertaken work to provide support for this repeat customer. Despite recent oil price weakness, Mermaid pointed out that it was still able to secure an improvement in day rates compared to the current year, plus it achieved a contract duration for two years instead of one year.

"We have consistently won contracts despite the recent weakness in oil prices, and the ongoing demand for our scope of services is a strong indication of our proven track record and continued standing as a leading provider of subsea and drilling services in the oil & gas industry," Chalermchai Mahagitsiri, CEO of Mermaid, said.

"We will continue to maintain our high standards and ensure that Mermaid remains in prime position for any future contract awards."

The two-year contract will be for subsea construction and will be performed using saturation diving and will include the installation of numerous spool pieces, risers, wyes and tees, among others. Additional services include the provision of a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), survey, and a spool fabrication spread.