Seacor Marine Holdings is joining the slow return of offshore shipowners to shipyards.
The New York-listed company said it has signed up for two 4,650-dwt platform supply vessels at China’s Fujian Mawei Shipbuilding, the same yard building 12 such ships for Evangelos Marinakis’ Capital Offshore.
Seacor said the newbuildings are costing $41m each, in line with brokers’ current price ideas.
The deal is being 50%-financed through a new loan of up to $391m with an affiliate of alternative shipping financier EnTrust Global.
The PSVs, due in the fourth quarter of 2026 and the first quarter of 2027, will come with an integrated battery energy storage system for higher fuel efficiency and lower running costs.
Seacor is also raising money towards the deal by agreeing to sell its last two anchor-handling tug supply (AHTS) ships for a total of $22.5m.
These are the 6,961-hp Seacor 88 and Seacor 888 (both built 2013). A buyer has not been named.
The Entrust Global credit facility consolidates all Seacor’s debt into a single tranche, maturing in the final three months of 2029.
The proceeds will go towards paying off $203.7m of secured borrowings, and $125m of unsecured liabilities, due in 2026.
EnTrust Global is charging interest at 10.3%.
Seacor chief executive John Gellert said the new financing addresses $125m of near-term maturities owed to the Carlyle Group.
It also wipes out $35m of convertible debt and a potential 10% of dilution overhang on the company’s common stock.
‘Competitive price’
Gellert said the PSV order “comes at a competitive price point and with an attractive delivery schedule”.
“These vessels expand and complement our PSV fleet as we implement our asset rotation strategy aimed at renewing our fleet with high-specification, environmentally efficient assets to replace older, lower-specification assets,” he added.
Seacor has 45 offshore ships in total.
Last week, TradeWinds reported that producer and shipowner China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) had become the latest operator to seal a rare new order for a PSV.
No such ships were ordered for 10 years in the offshore slump, until Greek tycoon Marinakis made the plunge in June.
UK shipbroker Clarksons reports that CNPC has now added to a small orderbook by ordering a 4,300-dwt unit at China’s Dalian Liaonan Shipyard, which is listed with no other vessels on its books.
Clarksons records only 19 genuinely new PSVs on order, with a couple of legacy vessels still on the books from the offshore slump.
It lists Greek owner Costamare Shipping as having four PSVs on order at PaxOcean in Singapore.
