Topaz Energy and Marine, a subsidiary of Oman-based Renaissance Services SAOG and a regional leader in providing offshore support vessels and engineering services, has added yet another milestone to its 35-year history by building two Anchor Handling/Offshore Support/Towing vessels.

The two sister vessels – Topaz Dignity and Topaz Triumph – will be operated by Topaz Marine on behalf of BP, the oil and gas major, on a long term contract basis in the Caspian Sea.

The ships will be fulfilling BPs’ demands for anchor handling/ tug /support and transport of dry and liquid cargo to and from pipe-laying barges, drilling platforms and production platforms for its offshore operations. The state-of-the-art vessels equipped with the latest cutting edge technical prowess are custom-built for Fi-Fi Class I and DP2 operations at a cost of approximately USD 50 million.

The Chairman of Renaissance Services, Samir Fancy, expressing his delight at the latest achievement stated: “We believe that the production and delivery of the two vessels to an Oil and Gas giant such as BP will enhance and establish Topaz’s strengths and credibility as a leader in providing offshore support vessel and engineering solutions”.

Thomas Bower, Managing Director of Topaz Engineering, adds: “The offshore support vessel market is an important and stable market sector that has a positive growth potential over the next few years, due to the aging fleets that presently operate in this segment. The building of the two sister vessels – Topaz Dignity and Topaz Triumph – demonstrates that our Shipyard is capable of designing, building, and delivering complex vessels to support this market. This is a step toward achieving the growth strategy for our Company over the next few years.”

Topaz Energy and Marine is a wholly owned subsidiary of Renaissance Services SAOG, the publicly traded multinational company on the Muscat Securities Market in Oman. Renaissance currently employs over 14,000 people, operates in 16 countries and its 2011 revenues were in excess of USD 0.75 billion. The company is anticipating improved stability and continued growth in 2012 with support of its stakeholders who recognise and value Renaissance for its growth record.