Teekay Offshore Partners has returned to Samsung Heavy Industries for a pair of suezmax shuttle tankers with dynamic positioning two (DP2) capabilities.
Shipbuilding sources said the New York-listed company is the mystery owner behind the two special-purpose ships unveiled last week by the South Korean shipbuilder.
As TradeWinds has reported, SHI disclosed in a stock exchange filing that a European company had signed an order for two newbuildings at around KRW 266.1bn ($250m).
SHI officials declined to confirm if Teekay is behind that order, citing contract confidentiality. A Teekay Offshore spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Shipbuilding sources said they believe Teekay Offshore's two 158,000-dwt vessels are options that the Ingvild Saether-led company held when it signed up for sisterships last year.
Including the latest newbuildings, the company has a total of six shuttle tankers under construction at SHI. The Koje shipyard is scheduled to deliver the sextet from next year to early 2021.
Teekay Offshore, a daughter company of Canada's Teekay Corp, has a fleet of offshore vessels, floating storage and production units, conventional tankers and shuttle tankers.
Headed to the North Sea
Shipbuilding players believe its latest pair of newbuildings will be deployed to the North Sea, where the company operates several vessels.
As TradeWinds reported in June, subsidiary Teekay Shuttle Tankers has been aiming to sell the 151,300-dwt Nordic Spirit and Stena Spirit (both built 2001), the second of which is owned on a 50:50 basis with Sweden's Stena Bulk.
Word of the order came as Teekay Offshore raised the size of a fundraising drive to $700m from $500m.
As TradeWinds reported this week, Brookfield Business Partners, the holder of 59.5% of Teekay Offshore’s outstanding common units, has agreed to buy $500m in the private placement of Norwegian kroner-denominated notes.
Teekay Offshore’s order is the second shuttle tanker contract SHI has secured this year.
In May, the shipyard was commissioned by Malaysia’s AET to construct four 152,000-dwt DP2 vessels for delivery by October 2020.
The quartet was reported to be costing $364m in total, or $91m each.
Petrobras is chartering the newbuildings for a firm period of 10 years plus an option for a further five years. The charter contract is worth $645m.
Petrobras will be using the tankers in domestic and international trades.
