New Delhi, Aug 22 (IANS) British power systems manufacturer Rolls-Royce Wednesday announced it has bagged a $12.6 million deal to design and power a highly specialised vessel that India will deploy in the strategically important Andaman and Niconbar Islands to maintain offshore navigational aids.

'Rolls-Royce, the global power systems company, has secured a 8 million pounds ($12.6 million) contract to design and power a highly specialised buoy tender vessel for India,' the company said in a release here.

'The vessel will be operating in remote waters off the east coast of India and around the Andaman & Nicobar Islands maintaining and replacing navigational aids and buoys,' it said.

The vessel will be built at the Cochin Shipyard and is due for delivery in 2015.

'We are very pleased that the Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships has chosen a highly advanced Rolls-Royce design and power systems package, focusing on both environmental and operational features, when extending their fleet,' Rolls-Royce General Manager Sales Ship Technology-Offshore Per Kristian Furo said.

The buoy tender vessel is a Rolls-Royce UT 755 S, which is a development of the UT 755 series and designed to operate safely in the most challenging conditions, the release said.

In addition to the design, Rolls-Royce will also supply the main engines, propulsion system, automation and control system, deck machinery and shaft generators, it added.

Cochin Shipyard has previously built over 20 Rolls-Royce designed vessels.

--Indo-Asian News Service

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