Swiss shipowner Allseas has said that its pipelay vessel, the 'Pieter Schelte' will be built at an Asian shipyard.
The vessel is to be one of the largest vessels ever to be built, with a length of 382 metres and a beam of 117 metres.
"We have not yet decided which shipyard to use, but we have received several interesting offers from yards," Asiasis quoted Allseas Manager Jeroen Hagelstein as saying. "We expect to built the ship in China or South Korea as there are not that many places that can build a ship of this size."
He added that Deltamarin, Finland, had been working on the vessel design.
The contract will be awarded in the second quarter of 2010 with delivery intended before the end of 2013. The contract is worth US$1.9 billion.
Allseas owns six other pipelay vessels.