Bourbon has turned to Grandweld Shipyards in Dubai with an order for six seismic vessels.
French offshore giant Bourbon says the newbuildings have been bought against five-year charters with CGGVeritas.
It does not say how much the new ships will cost but explains this latest move fits in with the mammoth 150 strong newbuilding plan unveiled last year.
Each of the new ships is scheduled to hit the water by the close of 2012, Bourbon says in a statement.
In January 2010 Bourbon hatched a plan to splash $2bn on 80 supply vessels and 64 crew boats in what it labelled the “2015 Leadership Strategy”.
It showed its hand at the same time as it sold off a vast chunk of its dry-cargo fleet to Genco and spin-off Baltic Trading.
Bourbon has since completed its exit from the dry-cargo sector to focus exclusively on offshore.