[ Bureau Veritas Leads World in Synthetic Rope Certification ]

Leading international classification society Bureau Veritas is the
first class society to certify 100 km of synthetic fibre ropes for
deepwater offshore moorings. This represents about sixty percent of all
synthetic fibre ropes manufactured for offshore mooring use to date.

"Synthetic fibre ropes offer significant advantages for mooring all
types of offshore production units, "says Michel Francois, of BV's
Offshore Division.
"We were the first to enter this field, issuing guidance notes in 1997.
Since then we have certified over 100 km of moorings, almost all of which
has been used to moor Petrobras units in the Campos Basin development."

BV issued Guidance Note NI 432 "Certification of synthetic fibre ropes
for mooring systems" in 1997. Ropes certified under the guidance have
been used for mooring SSFPU's and FPSOs in water depths of between 800 m
and 1,400 m. Ropes sizes have varied between 160 mm amd 200 mm, giving
breaking loads of between 500 tonnes, and 1,000 tonnes.

"The experience we have built up in this field, and the depth of
knowledge across our group, enables us to offer offshore operators
cost-effective and innovative mooring solutions,"says Francois.

Bureau Veritas, founded in 1828, is a leading international service
provider, dedicated to the prevention of risk and the promotion of
quality across a wide range of economic activities: Marine, Aeroautics,
Industry, Building Inspection, International Trade, Consumer Products and
Certification. Over the last five years, Bureau Veritas revenues have
risen significantly, reaching US$780m(FF4.6bn) in 1998. Bureau Veritas
has over 10,000 employees and 550 offices in over 150 countries
throughout the world.