Brazilian Operations Not as Fruitful as Expected, Eidesvik Sells Pair of Supply Vessels

Norwegian shipowner, Eidesvik, has entered into sales agreements of USD $64 million for the two supply vessels Viking Surf (built 2002) and Viking Thaumas (built 2005). Both vessels are employed on contracts in Brazil.

The deliveries of the vessels are expected to take place in the first half of May 2012. The company will record a gain of approximately NOK 77 million. A seller credit of USD $12 million is established in connection with the transaction. The credit is secured by a bank guarantee and will be repaid by 12 installments during the next 12 months. The transaction will give a positive net liquidity of USD $32 million after mortgages have been paid.

Simultaneously Eidesvik has entered into an agreement for buying a supply vessel, a UT 755L built at STX Aukra Norway in 2004, for USD $24 million. The delivery is expected to take place during first half of May 2012.

UT755CD_forfrasj-1 — An illustration of the UT 755 series from Rolls-Royce. Photo: Rolls-Royce

The financial return on the operations in Brazil has not been as good as expected. Hence, Eidesvik has chosen to sell these vessels now to be positioned to invest in vessels that give significantly higher return. The new supply vessel will be used in the spot market in the North Sea for the summer season 2012. We expect this market to be strong this summer. When the summer season is over, the company will consider in which region the vessel will be traded further.