Seacor Marine Holdings Inc. announced yesterday it would acquire three platform supply vessels from COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry (Zhoushan) Co. Ltd. for $46 million.
COSCO Zhoushan is an affiliate of COSCO Shipping Group, the world’s largest ship owner. Thirty percent of the purchase price will be paid in cash and 70% will be paid under a four-year deferred payment agreement between Seacor Marine and COSCO Zhoushan. Half of the cash payment will be paid in the first quarter of 2019 with the balance per vessel to be paid upon physical delivery of each vessel. The vessels are expected to be delivered on Sept. 30, 2019, Jan. 30, 2020, and April 30, 2020.
“We are honored to build upon our relationship with the COSCO Shipping Group, which began last year with our SEACOSCO joint venture,"John Gellert, Seacor Marine’s CEO, said in a statement. "That initiative’s first two vessels are already operational in the North Sea and in Saudi Arabia. Those vessels have performed well since delivery in early 2018, and we look forward to welcoming these newly acquired vessels into our fleet over the next year.
"This is truly an exciting time for Seacor Marine and its stakeholders as we continue to modernize our fleet through prudently structured transactions," Gellert continued. "In our core areas of U.S.-flag lift boats, aluminum hull fast support vessels, and now, foreign-flag, midsize deepwater platform supply vessels, we will have one of the most modern and commercially viable fleets in the industry for many years to come.”
The PSVs are Rolls Royce UT771CDL design of 3,800 dwt with dynamic position class 2 and firefighting class 1 notations. They can accommodate a subsequent upgrade to a battery hybrid power solution. They will be registered in the Marshall Islands and be named the SEACOR Alps, SEACOR Andes, and SEACOR Atlas, respectively.
