Ingalls to outfit drillship for Transocean Offshore

June 18, 1998 -- Ingalls Shipbuilding division of Litton Industries has signed a contract to outfit a new drillship for Transocean Offshore, Inc., of Houston, Texas. DISCOVERER ENTERPRISE, 834 feet long and 124 feet wide, weighing 45,000 tons, is a technologically advanced drillship, capable of drilling in extreme water depth up to 10,000 feet.

Transocean's contract with Ingalls, worth approximately $3.6 million, calls for Ingalls to load and integrate the final major components aboard the drillship, including the substructure and derrick, as well as completing the final outfitting.

The drillship, which will arrive at Ingalls in July, is currently in its final stages of construction at Astilleros Espanoles - Astano, in El Ferrol, Spain. When work at Ingalls is complete, DISCOVERER ENTERPRISE will be contracted to Amoco Corporation, which signed a contract with Ingalls in March to oversee the drillship's testing and trials program.

"This contract represents a vote of confidence in Ingalls by specialized companies in the offshore industry," said Ingalls President Jerry St. Pe'. "We are confident that the unique capabilities of our shipyard will deliver a successful effort beyond the industry standard, and will open doors for future work."

The Ingalls team involved in the program will include a core group of shipbuilders, test engineers, naval architects, reliability engineers, and others as necessary for program support.

Transocean Offshore's fleet of 31 vessels (including DISCOVERER ENTERPRISE) currently operate in eight global markets with strong positions in the Gulf of Mexico, the UK and the Norwegian sectors of the North Sea.