Overseas Contract Gain

Fisher (James) & Sons PLC
13 December 2006


For release 
13 December 2006


                           James Fisher and Sons plc
                                ('James Fisher')

                   £10m Contract Win by James Fisher Defence

              Submarine Rescue Vehicle for Republic of Korea Navy

James Fisher Defence Limited ('JFD'), a subsidiary of James Fisher, the UK's
leading Marine Services provider ('FSJ'), announces that it has been awarded a
contract to deliver a new Submarine Rescue Vehicle to the Republic of Korea Navy
('ROKN') following an open competitive tender.

The contract win, worth £10m over a period of 3 years, is the first since JFD
acquired the UK submarine rescue service assets in November 2006 from the
Government's Defence Sales Agency in order to provide submarine rescue services
to other countries.

ROKN selected JFD to supply and commission the new vehicle based on the quality
of the design and tender submission together with JFD's successful track record
in supporting the ROKN's existing rescue submersible, the LR5K, which has
included the provision of a new all-steel dry-mating skirt in September this
year. This enabled the ROKN to achieve a dry transfer from a submarine for the
first time for over three years.

The new submarine rescue vehicle, DSAR-5, will benefit from JFD's 15 years'
experience in the operation of the United Kingdom Submarine Rescue System,
including the LR5 rescue submersible which was designed and built by JFD. The
DSAR-5 is capable of locking onto the escape hatch of a stranded submarine and
transferring up to 16 submariners, recovering them to the surface where the
rescue vehicle may interface the decompression facility onboard the
'Chung-Hae-Jin', the ROKN's submarine rescue mothership.

Commenting on the contract, Simon Harris, JFD Managing Director, and a director
of James Fisher, said:

'Our success in winning the contract to supply the new submarine rescue vehicle
to the Republic of Korea Navy is testament to the design and build capability of
James Fisher Defence and the unrivalled reputation of our operations team. We
look forward to working closely with ROKN and delivering a world-leading rescue
submersible.'

-ENDS-

Contacts

James Fisher Defence        Simon Harris     Managing Director        01229 615 400  
James Fisher & Sons plc     Nick Henry       Chief Executive Officer  020 7338 5808
www.james-fisher.co.uk

James Fisher & Sons plc     Michael Shields  Group Finance Director   01229 615 400

Adventis Financial PR Ltd   Peter Binns                               020 7034 4760   
                            Chris Steele                              020 7034 4759   


Editor's Notes:

Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN) Submarine Rescue
JFD enjoys an excellent working relationship with ROKN, previously supplying a
range of spares and technical expertise in support of their submarine rescue
operations with their LR5K submersible.

The ROKN operates LR5K from the 'Chung-Hae-Jin' - a sophisticated, dedicated sub
marine rescue mothership incorporating a state-of-the-art below-decks
decompression facility. ROKN selected JFD to supply a new dry-mating skirt in
late 2005 following an open, competitive tender process. The skirt was delivered
in September 2006 and commissioned by JFD personnel.

DSAR-5
The ROKN's new DSAR-5 rescue vehicle will be based on JFD's existing LR5/DSAR-1
design which is currently in-service with the Royal Navy which since being built
by JFD has completed more than 300 dives and exercised with live submarines from
navies around the world.

The DSAR-5 rescue vehicle is capable of rescuing up to 16 submariners from a
depth of 500 metres in currents of up to 3 knots. Rescuees may be transferred
under pressure to the medical and decompression facilities onboard the
mothership. The use of Lithium based battery technology enables the underwater
endurance to be increased significantly over conventional lead-acid based
systems.

James Fisher personnel will commission the new submersible and provide training
to ROKN pilots and maintainers.

James Fisher Defence Ltd
James Fisher Defence was established in January 2005, bringing together the
defence sector activities of James Fisher and Sons plc including those of James
Fisher Rumic which was formed in 1984 and was acquired by James Fisher and Sons
in 2002. In recent years the company has increased the scope of its activities
and is actively marketing submarine rescue hardware and services to overseas
navies globally. JFD operates the United Kingdom Submarine Rescue System from
its base in Renfrew, Scotland and will operate the new NATO Submarine Rescue
Service rescue submersible.

Employing 40 full time personnel JFD has established itself as a world leader in
the provision of submarine rescue equipment and operating services, offering
customers proven equipment and experienced personnel with a track record of
success in this demanding sub sea environment.

James Fisher Defence Limited signed an agreement on 2 November 2006 with the
Government's Defence Sales Agency to acquire the operating assets of the UK sub
marine rescue service, for an undisclosed amount, in order to provide submarine
rescue services to other nations. The company will work closely with the Defence
Export Services Organisation to market its submarine rescue services worldwide.

James Fisher Defence Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of James Fisher and
Sons plc (FSJ.L), the UK's leading provider of marine services. Through its sub
sidiary, James Fisher Rumic Ltd, the company currently operates and maintains
the LR5 manned rescue submersible, the Scorpio ROV and ancillary equipment under
a contract to the Royal Navy and has played a key role in the development of the
UK's world-leading submarine rescue capability.

Last year, the rescue of the seven Russian submariners drew on the support from
the RAF, the US Navy and local Russians to fly the team and equipment from its
Renfrew base, transport it to a waiting ship, secure it to the vessel and reach
the offshore location within 36 hours. It took about 5 hours to cut the
discarded fishing nets which had trapped the mini-sub called the Priz at a depth
of 625 feet off Russia's far eastern Kamchatka peninsula. This was achieved amid
estimates that the Russian submariners had less than 10 hours of air left. The
team was also previously mobilised for the Kursk submarine disaster in 2000.

James Fisher & Sons
James Fisher & Sons plc, the parent company to James Fisher Defence, is a
leading provider of marine services with its business divided into these
sectors. The group is a market leader in the provision of technical engineering
solutions in the marine environment.

James Fisher has four divisions: Offshore Oil Services, Marine Oil Services,
Specialist Technical Services and Defence.




                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange