US offshore vessel owner Hornbeck Offshore Services has acquired three offshore supply vessels (OSVs) from the US Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) for an undisclosed sum.
The ships were acquired at auction and all three are US-flagged, Jones Act-qualified OSVs with capacities of around 4,600 dwt. Upon delivery from MARAD, Hornbeck Offshore said it expects to conduct reactivation and regulatory drydockings of the trio.
According to Todd Hornbeck, the company’s president and CEO, the ships were built by Eastern Shipbuilding in 2013 and 2014 and are excellent candidates for deployment in the US domestic offshore wind industry, as well as for potential conversion to military or other non-oilfield, non-wind specialty applications.
The acquisition is the second fleet expansion move by Hornbeck Offshore this year. Last month, the Covington-based company announced the purchase of ten OSVs from certain affiliates of Edison Chouest Offshore. The financial terms of that transaction were also not disclosed.