Norway's Eidesvik Offshore is eyeing cooperation with Belgium's DEME after agreeing to sell a construction service vessel (CSV).
The Oslo-listed owner said the 145.6-loa Viking Neptun (built 2015) will be handed over to DEME in the final three months of this year, after the completion of a charter to Norwegian operator Havfram.
Eidesvik expects to book a gain on the sale of about NOK 150m ($17.1m).
The disposal will also allow it to reverse NOK 240m in previous impairments made on the vessel in the fourth quarter of 2021.
Based on the company's public accounts and depreciation rates, TradeWinds calculates the book value of the ship at the end of 2021 as about NOK 720m.
The sales price is likely to be around NOK 1.1bn when the combined NOK 390m reversal and gain are added to this.
The vessel cost $162m as a newbuilding.
The deal will "significantly increase shareholders' equity", the company said.
Eidesvik retains full rights to all earnings from the CSV until delivery to DEME in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Liquidity gets a boost
The shipowner's liquidity position is expected to improve by about NOK 330m overall from the deal.
Eidesvik's new chief executive Gitte Gard Talmo said the sale will allow the company to reinforce its strategic focus on pioneering new emissions-reducing technologies.
"Our spearhead vessel projects are attracting significant interest in the market and we will continue to develop our offerings of climate and environmentally friendly solutions to offshore vessel operations," she added.
Eidesvik and DEME are also currently discussing potential alternatives for the Norwegian company to provide management services to DEME for the Viking Neptun.
"We are very pleased to welcome Viking Neptun to the DEME family," said DEME Offshore managing director Hugo Bouvy.
"The high-tech vessel has a proven track record of delivering high performance and is a great addition to our offshore fleet. Eidesvik and DEME share a complementary focus on pushing for more environmentally friendly operations and we will also investigate opportunities for further cooperation between our two companies," he added.
Talmo said: "Collaboration between companies is key to reaching the ambitious climate targets set for our industry. We look forward to investigating new opportunities in cooperation with DEME."
DEME is a dredger specialist with a fleet of 53 vessels.
Eidesvik retains a fleet of 15 offshore ships including platform supply vessels and seismic survey units.
