BSP Buys New Helicopters
By Liza Mohd

Bandar Seri Begawan - A signing ceremony was held yesterday morning between Brunei Shell Petroleum Company Sdn Bhd (BSP) and Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation to seal the purchase contract for three offshore-equipped Sikorsky S-92A helicopters and associated spares.

This makes the BSP as the first offshore oil operator in Asia to choose the S-92.

Signing the contract were the BSP Managing Director, Mr Grahaeme Henderson and Mr Pete Saloomey, vice president for Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation.

The chief guest and witness was Deputy Minister of Communications Dato Awg Hj Yusof.

BSP's association with Sikorsky dates back to 1958 when the company contracted S55 and S62 helicopters, said the MD. In 1967, BSP purchased the S6 IN helicopter and over the years, BSP's aviation department achieved many safety milestones including international recognitions, by winning the Flight International Aerospace Industry Awards for 1994 and 2001.

To date in BSP, the S61N has achieved in excess of 139,000 flight hours and more than 800,000 take offs and landings.

To provide the safest and most reliable service to the passengers whose work requires them to fly offshore, BSP has selected the new Sikorsky S92, he said. This is the first helicopter certified to the latest design standards demanded by the regulators in America and Europe.

The helicopter is designed to be extremely robust and flaw tolerant and has an advanced avionics system and glass-cockpit instrumentation to reduce the risk of human error in the cockpit. It will carry collision and ground proximity warning systems.

Mr Henderson noted that to ensure the highest levels of maintenance, the BSP have negotiated contracts with Helicopter Support and General Electric Aircraft Engines to provide .product support for the aircraft and engines respectively.

These contracts also deliver a significant level of increased training for BSP pilots and engineers and provide field service representatives in Brunei.

Mr Saloomey said with the S-92, BSP has selected an aircraft that will build upon and surpass the S-6 l's legacy.

He said since November 2004, the S-92 fleet has logged more than 4,000 hours in the most challenging offshore environments in the world, including the North Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and in the Hibernian Fields off Canada.

He expressed confidence the S-92 will be up to the challenge of providing BSP excellent performance, reliability and safety operation in the equally challenging tropical offshore environment of the South China Sea.

BSP will take delivery of three Sikorsky S-92A helicopters between October and December 2006. They will be introduced to full offshore service in Brunei Darussalam in early 2007.

The Sikorsky S-92A will replace the existing fleet of Sikorsky S-61N helicopters that has been supporting BSP operations since 1967. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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