Norwegian investment bank Pareto Securities is teaming up with Remoy Shipping to buy a platform supply vessel sold out of the oil and gas sector for conversion into a yacht two years ago.
An upturn in rates in the North Sea sector and a shortage of vessels means the 5,400-dwt Crusader (built 2010) is being acquired for $19.1m in an off-market deal by a start-up called Norwegian PSV III, according to a document seen by TradeWinds.
The former Havila Crusader was sold by Havila Shipping in 2021 for around $7.5m to Laskaridis in Greece.
The Greek owner’s plan to convert the PSV was put on hold, however.
VesselsValue now assesses the ship as worth $21.2m.
Norway’s Remoy Shipping will manage the vessel and contribute 15% of the $24.2m equity being used to establish the company.
This equity figure is the total investment cost, including reactivation expenses of $1.7m at an unnamed Norwegian shipyard next month.
The ship will be ready for operations in Norway in May, coinciding well with the peak season in the North Sea.
The PSV is currently laid-up in a Spanish shipyard.
Pareto said there are now fewer PSVs in the North Sea than there were pre-pandemic, with demand rising.
And there are no large high-end PSVs laid-up or on order that are suitable for operating in the North Sea, the investment bank added.
Lack of new vessels
Since 2014, almost no new vessels have been contracted, while 10% of the high-end PSV fleet has been converted or scrapped.
Due to high newbuilding prices, term rates are likely to need to increase by 50% from current levels to spur any ordering activity, Pareto believes.
The company aims to explore bank financing when the vessel is fixed on a time charter contract.
The Crusader will have an unlevered cash breakeven of $8,800 per day, with the last reported one-year fix for the UK’s continental shelf being 24,000 per day.
The Havila Crusader was built at Hellesoy Verft in Norway and had traded exclusively in northern Europe, including stints in the Baltic Sea and Russian Arctic.
But it was laid up in dire markets in June 2020 before being sold the year after.
Pareto said the ship has been maintained very well, with engines being started and checked by Caterpillar regularly.
