Hamburg: E.R. Offshore has hit back at what it calls a “misleading” statement by shipbuilder Vard, leading many to believe the German OSV player had gone bankrupt.
Speaking to Splash, Kai Naumann, E.R. Offshore’s managing director said that E.R. Offshore are not the owners of two vessels that Vard announced had been cancelled at its Vung Tau shipyard. Vard made the announcement on Friday, stating that the vessels belong to subsidiaries of E.R. Offshore, both of which had filed for insolvency.
“E.R. Offshore are not the owners of the vessels, and they are not owned by any E.R. Offshore subsidiary either. The only involvement we had was as the newbuilding supervisors,” Naumann said. He also said a statement issued by Vard last July, stating that E.R. Offshore had taken over the contracts from Carlotta Offshore, was incorrect.
When contacted by Splash, E.R. Offshore head of corporate communications, Stephanie Rother said: “In 2014 the single-ship companies Nordmoon Schiffahrts GmbH & Co KG and Nordlight Schiffahrts GmbH & Co KG have ordered two PSVs from Vard Singapore Pte Ltd. The two single-ship companies could not come to an agreement with the yard with regard to the further course of the project and have filed for insolvency.”
German company registration sites show the two companies are registered at the same address as E.R. Offshore, which is part of E.R. Capital Holding, the parent company of E.R. Schiffahrt.
