HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 25, 2001-- SAILARS(TM) Can Provide Cost-Effective Method for Subsea Intervention

Mentor Subsea Technology Services, Inc. (Mentor), a subsidiary of J. Ray McDermott, S.A., and International Submarine Engineering Ltd. (I.S.E.), today announced plans to develop a prototype unmanned semi-submersible system for deploying remote operated vessels. The system, called SAILARS(TM), will be able to cost effectively accomplish a variety of subsea intervention tasks.

Mentor is working with I.S.E. on SAILARS, an acronym for Semi-Autonomous Intervention, Launch and Recovery System. I.S.E. recently completed studies with Mentor that show SAILARS to be practical, cost-effective and safe.

"SAILARS is shaping up to be the most cost-effective means for deploying sight and robotic intervention to the seabed," said James Ferguson, vice president of development for I.S.E. "We are pleased that our efforts to date have shown this system to be technologically feasible, affordable, and superior to competing AUV/ROV concepts."

SAILARS is a hybrid autonomous underwater vehicle/remote operated vessel (AUV/ROV) that can operate and provide power for 50-150 horsepower work-class ROVs. SAILARS is designed to accommodate a variety of existing ROVs without modification and operate in significant wave height (Sea State 6) at distances approximately 15 miles from the controlling platform.

Compared to the fully submersible AUV in the hybrid role, the semi-submersible SAILARS can provide much higher levels of endurance and power to the ROV, a continuous ability to transmit high bandwidth ROV data to the controlling platform and more accurate positioning. Additionally, SAILARS does not require any infrastructure support from oil and gas platforms, enabling use from thousands of existing offshore platforms instead of from only those platforms that contain specially built facilities for ROVs.

"The increased hydrocarbon production in deepwater is also increasing the complexity and intervention of subsea systems," said Lee Taylor, division manager for technology products for J. Ray McDermott, Inc. "SAILARS can provide value by reducing costs and risks associated with maintaining seabed intervention at offshore locations."

Taylor presented a technical paper about SAILARS at the Underwater Technology Conference which recently held its annual meeting in Tampa, Florida.

Taylor said that advances in information technology, increased capacity of solid state electronics and reliability of remote controls have helped to create a new generation of ROVs that now make remote deployment practical and safe, not only for offshore oil and gas operations but also a range of other applications.

"SAILARS can be used to inspect, repair and maintain communications cable, subsea pipelines, wellheads, manifolds and other seabed infrastructure in the oil and gas, communications and power industries," said Taylor.

The Mentor/I.S.E. team also explored other high potential uses for SAILARS, including:

• Touchdown monitoring, trenching support for communications cable, subsea pipelines and umbilical installation.

• Search and recovery operations.

• Oceanographic research where active sensing and sampling data is required.

Development of SAILARS began in 1999 when Mentor contracted with I.S.E. to conduct an initial feasibility study. I.S.E. is a world leader in the design and integration of autonomous and remotely operated robotic vehicles and terrestrial robotics. A cost-effective design was subsequently identified and a model constructed for testing.

The Institute for Marine Dynamics, based in St. John's, Newfoundland, conducted extensive simulation and modeling in a wave tank that validated the seaworthiness of the concept. Further conceptual engineering was undertaken to identify optimal radio telemetry and ROV handling configurations. The AUV design of SAILARS is based on I.S.E.'s semi-submersible Dolphin and Dorado vehicles which were previously developed for minehunting and hydrographic survey.

Taylor said that co-funded development of SAILARS will continue in 2001 between Mentor and I.S.E. with the objective of testing a prototype system in 2003.

International Submarine Engineering Ltd., headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, and its wholly-owned subsidiary, I.S.E. Research Ltd., are high technology engineering companies engaged in the development and manufacture of subsea, land and space robotic systems. Since its founding in 1974, I.S.E. has built more than 200 undersea vehicles, 300 robotic manipulators and 20 AUVs.

Mentor Subsea Technology Services, Inc. is based in Houston and provides low cost solutions emphasizing technical and commercial excellence in the field of subsea and pipeline engineering, construction and project management.

J. Ray McDermott, S.A., a subsidiary of McDermott International, Inc. (NYSE:MDR), is a leading worldwide marine construction company. Its services include design, fabrication and installation of spar platforms; design and installation of subsea facilities; design, fabrication and installation of new and refurbished bottom-founded offshore platforms; and installation of offshore pipelines for the oil and gas industry.

McDermott International, Inc. is a leading worldwide energy services company. The company's subsidiaries manufacture steam-generating equipment, environmental equipment and products for the U.S. government. They also provide engineering and construction services for industrial, utility and hydrocarbon processing facilities, and to the offshore oil and natural gas industry. The company's website is www.mcdermott.com.

Statements in this release which express a belief, expectation or intention, as well as those which are not historical fact, are forward looking. They involve a number of risks and uncertainties which may cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements. These risk and uncertainties include factors detailed from time to time in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Form 10-K for the transition period from April 1, 1999 to December 31, 1999, and the Form 10-Q for the period ending September 30, 2000.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Image of SAILARS available upon request.

--30--DH/na*