Southampton-based shipbuilder VT Group announced today it had signed a £400 million contract to supply three ocean patrol vessels to Oman.
Work on the three ships will begin at the company's Portsmouth shipbuilding centre immediately, with the first of the vessels scheduled to be handed over to the Royal Navy of Oman in 2010.
The remaining ships, which are approximately 300ft in length, will be delivered at six-month intervals under the contract worth £400 million over a five-year period.
VT Group chief executive Paul Lester said: ''This is a major export success for the UK and maintains the long and successful relationship we have had with the Royal Navy of Oman over the past 25 years."
''These ships will be the most advanced of their type in the world when they are completed."
VT Group, which has its headquarters in Southampton, is a major support services and shipbuilding company which employs 13,000 people and has orders worth £3.6 billion on its books.
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