Eidesvik makes offshore vessel investment

Last week was quite active in the field of subsea vessel orders. Norwegian shipping company Eidesvik Offshore ASA (OSE: EIOF) also decided to make over 1 billion NOK investment in one as its majority owned subsidiary Eidesvik Neptun AS entered a contract with Kleven Maritime AS for the delivery of a 145 metre long vessel with a beam of 31 m equipped with 2 offshore cranes of 400 and 100 MT set for delivery in Q2 2014. The vessel design SALT 301 OCV is developed by Eidesvik in cooperation with SALT Ship Design and Kleven Maritime

Eidesvik believes that the strategic step allows it to strengthen its leading subsea vessel operator position. Some 50 new jobs will be added. There is also an option for a sister ship for delivery in early 2015. Eidesvik has Supply, Offshore and Seismic specialized vessels in its fleet operated for major international customers. Several weeks ago it sold a couple supply vessels in Brazil, saying the financial return on those operations had not been as good as expected, and chose to use those proceeds to invest in activities with better expected returns.