Talks on building a maritime yard in Saudi Arabia will continue despite the expiry of a memorandum of understanding, the National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (Bahri) said on Thursday.

Bahri signed an MoU with Saudi Aramco and Singapore's Sembcorp Marine in August 2013 to conduct a feasibility study for the yard project which expired on October 29.

The MoU expired with no financial commitments but the three companies want to continue negotiations, sign a new MoU or extend the expired one, Bahri said in a statement on the Saudi bourse.

The project is aimed at providing engineering, manufacturing and repair services to rigs, platforms, commercial vessels and offshore service vessels.

Industry sources said the yard would be built in Ras Al-Khair, a mining hub. - Reuters