The Southern Vietnam Helicopter Corporation of Vietnam (VNH South) signed a contract today with Eurocopter South East Asia for its fourth EC225 heavy helicopter. This acquisition follows closely on its last purchase of the same aircraft type six months ago, as it continues to expand its fleet for offshore oil and gas operations.

On the occasion of the Singapore Airshow 2012, representatives from Southern Vietnam Helicopter Corporation (previously Southern Service Flight Company) put pen to paper to acquire a Eurocopter EC225 – its fourth EC225 purchase in four years – for its fast-expanding oil and gas business.

“We signed for an EC225 in August last year, and there was never any doubt that the option for another will be exercised,” said Captain Vi Cong Dung, Director of VNH South. “We have been using Super Puma helicopters for a long time now and have full confidence in its capability and performance to carry out the demanding offshore missions required of them.”

With this addition of the fourth EC225, VNH South will have a total of 10 rotary-wing aircraft from Eurocopter, comprising four EC225 and four AS332 L2 Super Pumas, and two EC155 Dauphin family helicopters.

“We are grateful to VNH South for their continued support and belief in our products,” said Dr. Bernhard Brenner, Eurocopter South East Asia President. “We have signalled our commitment to Vietnam many years ago and have spared no resources in providing our utmost service to our customers. Through this unwavering dedication, we have built up and strengthened our relationships with many major customers like VNH, whose confidence in us will spur us to continue contributing to the development of this market.”

The EC225 is a high-performance heavy twin-engine helicopter in the 10-11 metric ton category. It seats up to 19 passengers, with the latest technologies that make it a leader in the field of flight safety. The EC225 is recognized as the reference for offshore and passenger transport missions, as well as search and rescue (SAR) operations.

EADS / Eurocopter press release