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Sinopacific Shipbuilding Group (Sinopacific) has been granted the contract to build nine anchor handling tug supply (AHTS) vessels for Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and its wholly-owned subsidiary, ESNAAD.

ADNOC firstly launched bids for the project in 2013 and then handed it over to ESNAAD - its wholly-owned subsidiary - for follow up.

The contract was signed by both parties in Abu Dhabi. Sinopacific is scheduled to deliver all nine vessels in 2017.

The design that won the bid is the SPA80A, which is an AHTS with electric propulsion system and a bollard pull of 80 metric tonnes designed by Shanghai Design Associates (SDA), the Sinopacific offshore support vessel (OSV) design team.

The vessel's basic design has been tailored to ADNOC’s specific requirements, and has been designed to provide reliable and efficient performances under the complex conditions of shallow water, high salinity, high temperatures and high humidity in the Persian Gulf.

The SPA80A is to be constructed on the basis of the original SPA80 design, Sinopacific's own brand design. This particular design was shortlisted as one of the best ship designs in 2012 by Offshore Support Journal (OSJ).