Sembawang Shipyard secures contract for research vessel

The contract has been awarded by Teekay Shipping (Australia) Pty Ltd and The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia’s national science agency and one of the largest and most diverse research agencies in the world, will operate the vessel on behalf of the Australian Government for use by the Australian marine research community.

Upon completion and delivery in the second quarter of 2013, the vessel will be named RV Investigator and will provide a safe and advanced diverse marine science capability to Australia. She will be based in Hobart, Tasmania and operates from the tropical north to the Antarctic ice-edge and across the Indian, Southern and Pacific oceans.

David Parmeter, Managing Director of Teekay Shipping (Australia) Pty. Ltd said “Sembawang Shipyard is our valued partner in Singapore and has strongly supported us throughout the due diligence process to CSIRO. We are confident that our close partnership and collaboration will lead to the timely and safe delivery of the state-of-the-art new research facility to comply with CSIRO’s stringent operating standards for multi-disciplinary research activities at sea.”

Dr Andrew Johnson, Group Executive - Environment, CSIRO said “The award of this contract is an important part of a four-year process by CSIRO through the “Future Research Vessel Project” to build a new and highly advanced research vessel. RV Investigator will significantly boost the oceanographic, geoscientific, fishery, and ecosystem research capability available to Australian marine researchers. The new vessel will deliver benefits to many Australian agencies and underpin science discoveries from Southern Hemisphere marine environments. We have selected Sembawang Shipyard and Teekay Shipping as the right partners for CSIRO through a rigorous evaluation process and have full confidence that both companies will together deliver our new vessel to our required standards.”