SINGAPORE - Sembcorp Marine (SembMarine), hit lately by a US$214 million (S$303 million) contract termination, had good news to share.

It announced on Wednesday (Nov 18) that its subsidiary, Sembcorp Marine Rigs and Floaters Pte Ltd, has secured an order to design and build a new floating, storage and offloading (FSO) vessel for a subsidiary of Modec.

SembMarine did not reveal the value of the contract but says the vessel is scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2018.

The new contract marks its first newbuild FSO award secured on a full turnkey project basis, and involves the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning for the project, SembMarine said.

Modec will supply the internal turret and topside modules which SembMarine will install and integrate.

Said Mr William Gu, head of Sembcorp Marine Rigs & Floaters: "This is our 24th project working with Modec and the first newbuild FSO for SCM Rigs & Floaters. The FSO will be built using our facilities at Tuas Boulevard Yard. We thank MODEC for placing their confidence and trust in us."

When completed, the FSO will be deployed at Maersk Oil's Culzean field, the largest new oil and gas field to have been discovered in the North Sea for a decade, and recently approved by the UK Oil & Gas Authority for development.

SembMarine fired back at Marco Polo Marine on Wednesday morning, announcing that its subsidiary, PPL Shipyard, will regard the termination by Marco Polo Drilling of a US$214.3 million rig order as breach of contract.

Shares in SembMarine closed at S$2.20 on Wednesday, down five cents.