AmericasGreater ChinaOffshore

Seacor Marine establishes OSV joint venture with Cosco

Offshore vessel owner Seacor Marine Holdings has announced the formation of Seacosco Offshore, a joint venture with affiliates of China’s state-run Cosco Shipping Group.

Seacosco Offshore has entered into contracts for eight PSV newbuildings from Cosco Shipping Heavy Industry (Guangdong) with seven of the PSVs to deliver in 2018 and one in 2019. Thereafter, the shipyard will store the PSVs at their facility for periods ranging from six to 18 months. The storage period can be shortened by mutual agreement.

Additonally, Seacosco Offshore has contracted Rolls-Royce Marine to outfit six of the PSVs with a battery energy storage system designed to reduce fuel consumption and enhance the safety and redundancy of the vessels’ systems.

Total price of the PSVs, including the battery system, is around $161.1m.

Seacosco will be funded 30% with equity and 70% with debt financing secured by the PSVs. The company will be responsible for full commercial, operational, and technical management of the vessels on a worldwide basis under a separate management agreement with Seacosco.

“We are excited to partner with Cosco Shipping Group. We are confident that we have structured a transaction that meets the needs of the Shipyard while also managing the cash outlay from the equity owners. The acquired vessels will modernize our operating fleet and expand our offerings to our customers. Combining a proven and advanced design, best in category accommodations, and the innovative Rolls-Royce battery system, these vessels will be highly marketable across all major offshore energy regions worldwide,” said John Gellert, Seacor Marine’s chief executive officer.

Jason Jiang

Jason is one of the most prolific writers on the diverse China shipping & logistics industry and his access to the major maritime players with business in China has proved an invaluable source of exclusives. Having been working at Asia Shipping Media since inception, Jason is the chief correspondent of Splash and associate editor of Maritime CEO magazine. Previously he had written for a host of titles including Supply Chain Asia, Cargo Facts and Air Cargo Week.
Back to top button