The joint venture company owed by Singapore’s Marco Polo and Malaysia’s Nam Cheong, Marco Polo Offshore, has incorporated a new wholly-owned subsidiary SK Marco Polo in Malaysia.
In a filing the companies said that SK Marco Polo will mainly engage in the business of vessel chartering. Both companies have struggled through the offshore downturn and had going concern issues flagged.
In September 2016, Marco Polo drew attention to its own going concern issues and is currently in the middle of restructuring, while Nam Cheong’s auditor BDO said last week there was a material uncertainty related to going concern in their report on Nam Cheong’s 2016 financial statements.
According to VesselsValue, Nam Cheong has 56 vessels scheduled for delivery this year, far more than any other shipbuilder, and Splash understands that only a small percentage have been committed for sale.
“It’s a way of Marco Polo putting some of its excess boats into Malaysia. I don’t see it helping Nam Cheong newbuilds in China at all,” a well placed source told Splash.
Marco Polo Offshore became a joint venture between the two companies in August 2014 following the $50m sale of a 50% stake in Marco Polo Offshore to Nam Cheong. The JV immediately went on to purchase a new-build 200-man accommodation work vessel constructed by Nam Cheong.
