Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., a South Korean shipbuilder, said Tuesday that it has clinched a $570 million order to build a drill ship for a U.S. firm.

Under the deal with Atwood Oceanics, Daewoo Shipbuilding will deliver the drill ship used to search for oil and gas wells in deep waters by the end of 2015, the company said in a regulatory filing.

In January last year, Daewoo Shipbuilding received a similar deal from the same company to build a drill ship as well.

A drill ship is a maritime vessel with a drilling apparatus and is used for exploratory offshore drilling for new oil and gas wells in deep waters.

The shipbuilder said a steady rise in demand for such specialized vessels is expected due in part to high crude oil prices that have made deep sea exploration and development more profitable.

So far this year, Daewoo has received orders valued at $4.77 billion to build ships and offshore facilities.

Daewoo Shipbuilding is targeting orders valued at $13 billion this year. (Yonhap News)