26 January 2013

Gracious Lady Sponsor, Mrs Manju Agarwal,

Mr Naresh Kumar, Chairman of Dynamic Offshore Drilling,

Dr Lee Boon Yang, Chairman of Keppel Corporation,

Mr Choo Chiau Beng, CEO of Keppel Corporation and Chairman of Keppel Offshore & Marine,

Mr Tong Chong Heong, CEO of Keppel Offshore & Marine,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies & Gentlemen.

Good morning. I am honoured to join you today to witness the naming of the jack-up rig, DYNAMIC VISION. First, let me congratulate Vision Drilling Pte Ltd and Keppel Offshore and Marine on the naming of DYNAMIC VISION.

On behalf of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, I am very pleased to welcome DYNAMIC VISION to the family of vessels flying the Singapore flag in the Singapore Registry of Ships (or SRS). DYNAMIC VISION joins a quality fleet of some 4,000 vessels.

I would like to thank Vision Drilling Pte Ltd for their support and their vote of confidence in the SRS and hope that DYNAMIC VISION will be just the first of many vessels that Vision Drilling will flag with Singapore.

Singapore's offshore fleet

While I am on the topic of the SRS, please allow me to take this opportunity to share a bit more about the SRS. The SRS is ranked among top 10 ship registries in the world, with some 65 million GT of ships registered. We are glad to have witnessed good growth in the size of the SRS over and years and, in particular, are pleased to see a growing number of oil rigs and other offshore mobile units flagging with the SRS in recent years.

As at the end of last year, there were over 80 offshore units totalling 1.8 million GT registered with the SRS. Vision Drilling Pte Ltd joins other quality owners, like Deep Drilling, Fred Olsen, Greatship Global Energy, Maersk Drilling and Prosafe, who have placed their rigs with the SRS. This encouraging growth in our offshore fleet further boosts Singapore's standing as a key regional offshore centre.

The growing presence of offshore players in Singapore has also led to the growth of a vibrant pool of offshore service providers, including offshore brokers such as Kennedy Marr, Fearnleys and RS Platou, as well as local and foreign banks with offshore Oil & Gas portfolios such as DNB, Nordea, DBS and OCBC. The developments have helped Singapore to grow as a centre for offshore activities and as a base for offshore vessel operations and related supporting services.

Singapore's offshore and marine sector

From our humble beginnings as a basic ship repair station in the 1960s, Singapore has grown into a global leader in the offshore and marine industry, specialising in rig building and ship repair. Today, Singapore is the world's largest manufacturer of jack-up rigs with a market share of some 70%. It also has 70% of the global market share for the conversion of Floating Production Storage Offloading (or FPSO) units. In 2011, the offshore and marine industry contributed an output of over S$16 billion, and is one of the fastest growing sectors in Singapore's economy.

We are confident that Singapore's leading position in jack-up rig construction and FPSO conversion, as well as her proximity to oil exploration and drilling activities in Australia, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Middle East will continue to propel the growth of the offshore and marine industry in Singapore.

We are proud that Keppel, a home-grown company, plays an important role in the growth of the sector, having established itself as a global leader in the design, construction and repair of mobile offshore rigs. Its portfolio of proprietary designs meets a broad spectrum of operating requirements, including deep waters and harsh environments. In particular, DYNAMIC VISION is built to the industry-proven KFELS B Class design, which won Keppel the Prestigious Engineering Achievement Award from the Institution of Engineers Singapore in 2009. The B Class design accounts for about 50% of the world's jack-up rigs that have entered the market over the past decade, and it is testament to Keppel's capabilities in providing versatile designs that are proven to deliver superior operability and efficiency.

The offshore and marine industry is a key part of Singapore's economy and the Government is committed to supporting the continued growth of the industry. Through the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore and our fellow agencies like the Economic Development Board and the Agency for Science Technology and Research, we have been supporting the development of the industry through initiatives like the Offshore Technology Research Programme, the Maritime Technology Professorship and the Centre for Offshore Research and Engineering in the National University of Singapore.

More recently, we formed the Singapore Maritime Institute to drive national education and R&D efforts in maritime and offshore and marine to develop quality manpower for the industry and to develop Singapore as a global knowledge hub in maritime and offshore and marine.

Through these efforts, we hope to further strengthen and sustain Singapore's leading position and sharpen our competitive advantage in the global offshore and marine market.

Conclusion

Finally, Ladies and Gentlemen, let me once again congratulate Vision Drilling and Keppel on the successful completion and naming of DYNAMIC VISION and wish it every success in its operations.

Thank you.