Teekay is set to exit its towage joint venture with Kotug in Australia after less than six years in operation.
The shipping behemoth said the two companies had concluded a deal in order to “re-shape KT Maritime Services Australia (KTM) from a 50/50 joint venture to a full subsidiary of the Kotug group”.
Teekay said it had decided to exit KTM to focus on its core Australian ship management, crewing and consultancy businesses.
“By acquiring Teekay’s stake, Kotug aims to optimize its existing operations and to provide room for significant growth,” it said.
“Both companies will work together during a transition period to restructure the new set-up.”
The split has been unanimously approved by the boards of both parent companies and was executed in the first week of April 2018. It is due to be finalized on 1 July 2018.
KTM was established in August 2012 in a bid to combine industry know-how and operational best practices in the growing Australian towage market.
It provides all towage operations for Shell’s Prelude FLNG, as well as towage assistance at ConocoPhillips’ Bayu Undan FSO, for which it employs four purpose-built infield support vessels.
“With the start-up of KTM’s contracts with Shell and ConocoPhillips, we believe this is the right time for Teekay to refocus on our core Australian business,” said Teekay’s executive vice president, strategic development, William Hung.
