A newly-placed Borr Drilling rig has found itself at the centre of an international naval standoff over rights to the disputed South China Sea.
The standoff marks China's furthest reach southward to date in asserting its offshore claims, some 44 nautical miles off Malaysia's Sarawak state.
It also shows Malaysia's navy taking active measures to respond to what analysts called "harassment" by China in waters of the Malaysian exclusive economic zone.
Foreign relations analysts tracking commercial and naval tonnage have reported that the 10,500-gt jackup rig Gunnlod (built 2018) was approached by China Coast Guard (CCG) vessel CCG 5402 on 12 November, soon after it had been towed in place. It approached the rig again on 19 November.
Analysts at the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) believe that on the latter visit the coast guard vessel was "presumably warning [the Borr Drilling rig] to cease operations as the CCG has in other recent cases, involving Malaysian and Vietnamese offshore drilling".
The Gunnlod is engaged in operations on a large new gas discovery by Thailand's PTT at the Sarawak 410B block. It is being served there by two large AHTS vessels — Jasa Merin's 10,880-bhp JM Abadi (built 2014) and Emas Offshore's 10,800-bhp AHTS Lewek Plover (built 2008).
Not mentioned in the analysts' reports is a larger rig recently placed in the immediate area on a similarly sensitive job. Transocean's 29,000-gt ultra-deepwater semi-submersible rig Deepwater Nautilus (built 2000) arrived on nearby Sarawak 316 block in October to work a contract for Malaysian oil major Petronas.
Naval harassment
Press reports in August, after the announcement of Transocean's Petronas contract, suggested that China could be expected to respond by naval harassment if the rig were to be employed on the Sarawak block.
The Deepwater Nautilus is being served by Solstad Offshore's 16,000-bhp Far Stream (built 2006) and an Executive Offshore PSV — the 3,700-dwt Executive Excellence (built 2017).
So far, it is the Borr Drilling rig that China is known to have confronted. Malaysia's navy responded, first using an unarmed naval auxiliary vessel and then sending a military vessel — the Chinese-built 700-displacement tonne KD Keris (built 2018).
As it happens, that ship is the first in a series the Royal Malaysian Navy ordered from China Shipbuilding Industry Corp to beef up its shore defences.
The Malaysian naval vessel stayed near the rig and followed the CCG ship when it departed.
'Provocation'
"As of 25 November, the Gunnlod remains on site at Block SK 410B and the 5402 has not returned. Recent history suggests China could escalate the standoff with further deployments," wrote CSIS analysts on their Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative site.
"But [China] might also de-escalate, recognising that harassment of drilling operations so close to Malaysian shores is a significant provocation."
An official of Borr Drilling did not respond to TradeWinds' enquiries.
China's CCG 5402 is believed to be a Zhonglai-class patrol ship of 4,800 displacement tonnes, and part of the CCG's rapid ongoing expansion for use in its operations far from the mainland. Zhonglai-class ships are based on a salvage-and-rescue ship design, with a helipad, a large water cannon, and a forward mount allowing for the installation of a 76mm gun.
