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STX Europe has been awarded a contract with Solstad Rederi AS to build an innovative LNG-powered Platform Supply Vessel (PSV).

The vessel is scheduled for delivery in Q4 2011. The value of the contract is approximately NOK 450 million.

Roy Reite, President of STX Europe's Offshore & Specialized Vessels business area, said "Today's order confirms our strong position in design and building of environmentally friendly vessels. We have a strong focus on environmental concerns throughout a vessel's value chain - from design and construction through the ship's operating life. LNG is a technology in which we already have a strong track record, and we look forward to developing the new vessel together with Solstad."

The vessel is designed with focus on low fuel consumption, and precautions in accordance with DNV's Clean Design requirements are incorporated in the design.

The ship will be able to run on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), biofuel and ordinary marine diesel oil. STX Europe says it's gas tank solution is unique because the LNG tank does not reduce the cargo capacity on board and the new design has a higher cargo capacity than other vessels of the same size.

The vessel will also be equipped to carry out rescue operations, recovery of personnel and oil recovery operations.

It was designed by STX Europe's design office in Ålesund, Norway. The hull will be built at STX Europe in Tulcea, Romania, and outfitted at the STX Europe yard Langsten in Norway.