Norwegian offshore operator Siem Offshore has entered into an agreement with the group’s secured lenders in Europe and Norway for a standstill agreement to defer loan repayments.
The terms of the agreement includes 100% deferral of principal and interest until April 30, 2021, and also includes a waiver of financial covenants including loan-to-value provisions.
The standstill agreement is further conditional upon reaching an agreement with the bondholders of the NOK350m ($35.4m) senior unsecured bond due October 30 this year and the NOK760m ($77m) senior unsecured convertible bond due November 2023 to defer payments and suspend acceleration rights until the expiry of the deferral period in April 2021.
In the meantime, the company has similar discussions ongoing with secured lenders in Brazil and Canada.
Siem Offshore believes the agreement will improve the company’s cash flow and liquidity and secure sufficient cash to operate the fleet in a challenging offshore market with possible down time caused by Covid-19 during the next 11 months.
