South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) has emerged as the preferred bidder for Norway's re-competed logistics and support vessel (LSV) programme.
Confirming the move to IHS Jane's on 25 April, the Norwegian Defence Logistics Organisation (NDLO) said that "contract negotiations have been initiated with DSME [and] other tenders are temporarily set on hold".
Under Project 2513 Norway is seeking to procure a single LSV to provide afloat support for a Royal Norwegian Navy task group. The programme, budgeted at NOK1.32 billion (USD225 million), originally sought a multipurpose vessel able to provide an organic afloat replenishment capability, a roll-on/roll-off (Ro-Ro) deck for vehicles, load-on/load-off (Lo-Lo) facilities, and additional utility for aviation, medical, and maintenance support.
DSME's preferred status follows a second round of bidding for the LSV programme. Going back to December 2011, three yards – Hyundai Heavy Industries, Bergen Group, and P&S Werften – were shortlisted against the original competitive criteria, with each subsequently submitting a bid to the NDLO. However, all three tender responses came in significantly above budget, forcing the original competition to be abandoned in mid-2012.