Malaysia's state energy firm Petronas recently launched a tender for the construction of 16 offshore support vessels (OSV), The Edge Weekly reported on Saturday.
The newspaper reported, citing sources, that the invitation to bid is for the first batch of contracts and Petronas has plans to build 100 vessels in four years as it phases out its old vessels.
The sources said Petronas has set a few requirements for the new OSV contracts, among them that the vessels will have to be built in local shipyards and bidders have to obtain financing from Malaysia-based banks.
(Reporting by Liz Lee; Editing by Kim Coghill)