Rolls-Royce has won an order to provide integrated design and ship equipment for a highly innovative offshore vessel for Norwegian ship owner Island Offshore.

The new striking UT 777 design has been developed in close cooperation with Island Offshore, to be used in offshore drilling operations during harsh weather conditions. The vessel will be built in Japan by Kawasaki Heavy Industries and is scheduled for delivery in 2017. The contract is worth around £25 million to Rolls-Royce.

John Knudsen, Rolls-Royce, President - Offshore said: "This new design is based on many years of operating experience, especially from the vessel Island Wellserver which we designed in 2005. The UT 777 will be unlike anything seen before, and marks the latest chapter in the story of the Rolls-Royce UT Design vessels which have been pioneering oil and gas exploration for the past 40 years."

The new vessel is designed to undertake a variety of subsea tasks, including Top Hole Drilling, Subsea Construction and Inspection, and Maintenance and Repair Work in deep waters. It can also be adapted to undertake light Well Intervention.

Håvard Ulstein, CEO of Island Offshore said: "We are excited about building another game changer in the offshore market. Our collaboration with the Rolls-Royce design team in Norway has been vital in this process."

In addition to the design and engineering package, Rolls-Royce will also supply the major systems, comprising the propulsion system with six generator sets and seven electrically run thrusters, control and automation systems, mooring and anchoring deck machinery and electric systems.

About Rolls-Royce

Rolls-Royce is a world-leading provider of power systems and services for use on land, at sea and in the air, and has established a strong position in global markets - civil aerospace, defence aerospace, marine and energy.
As a result of this strategy, Rolls-Royce has a broad customer base comprising more than 300 airlines, 4,000 corporate and utility aircraft and helicopter operators, 160 armed forces, more than 4,000 marine customers, including 70 navies, and energy customers in more than 80 countries.
Annual underlying revenue was £12.2 billion in 2012, of which more than half came from the provision of services. The firm and announced order book stood at £69.2 billion at 30 June 2013, providing visibility of future levels of activity.
Rolls-Royce employs over 45,000 people in offices, manufacturing and service facilities in over 50 countries. Over 14,000 of these employees are engineers.
In 2012, Rolls-Royce invested £919 million on research and development, two thirds of which had the objective of further improving the environmental performance of its products, in particular reducing emissions.
Rolls-Royce supports a global network of 28 University Technology Centres, which connect the company's engineers with the forefront of scientific research.
The Group has a strong commitment to apprentice and graduate recruitment and to further developing employee skills.