Having been awarded the turnkey contract to construct the Turksat 4A and 4B satellites, it remains unclear as to whether Mitsubishi Electric Corp (Melco) will undertake a broker tender for the launch plus one insurance of the birds.
While the circa…
Having been awarded the turnkey contract to construct the Turksat 4A and 4B satellites, it remains unclear as to whether Mitsubishi Electric Corp (Melco) will undertake a broker tender for the launch plus one insurance of the birds.
While the circa US$600m contract is an in-orbit delivery, SatelliteFinance understands that Turksat is still expected to have some say on the selection of the launch service provider and potentially the satellites’ insurance.
Melco has traditionally used Tokyo Marine to secure insurance, with Willis brought in for the reinsurance. However, for Melco’s first satellite order outside of Japan, SingTel’s ST- 2, ISB was mandated to secure the insurance. For its part, Turksat has generally carried out a competitive broker process each time it requires new satellite insurance, whether for new spacecraft or in-orbit renewals.
The order of Turksat 4A and 4B represents Melco’s largest commercial satellite order to date. The satellites will be based on Melco’s DS2000 platform and will be launched in 2013 and 2014.
Turksat 4A is to be located at 42E over the EMEA region and will contain C-, Ku- and Ka-band transponders predominantly providing DTH capacity. Turksat 4B is to be located at 50E and will be used for Turksat’s new Ka-band broadband connectivity service as well as for fixed communication services via the Kuand C-bands.
ISB is in the market with the launch plus one insurance package for ABS-2. Based on Space Systems/Loral’s LS-1300 platform, the satellite is due to be launched by Arianespace in early 2013 and will be located at 75E. The placement is unlikely to be particularly challenging, although given the satellite’s size and cost, it will carry up to 87 Cband, Ku-band and Ka-band transponders and will cost approximately US$340m, the sum insured could be around US$300m.
The broker tender to place the launch plus one insurance for the two Ka-band satellites, which National Broadband Network Company (NBN Co) is in the process of ordering, is down to ISB and Marsh. It is thought that once NBN decides on its broker, it will then select the spacecrafts’ manufacturer.
