Abu Dhabi-based AD Ports Group is spending $200m to buy a raft of offshore vessels from Mexico’s E-Nav Offshore.
While AD Ports did not identify the vessels, offshore sources familiar with the deal told TradeWinds these 10 ships are Singapore-flagged vessels that E-Nav had acquired from Pacific Radiance Offshore in 2021.
AD Ports said on Tuesday that the deal included multipurpose supply vessels, platform supply vessels, diving support vessels and accommodation workboats, with an average age of nine years.
All are to be delivered in the fourth quarter of this year.
The company said the deal represented an attractive offering, particularly in relation to upcoming major offshore projects in the Middle East, where there is a shortage of quality assets.
The former Pacific Radiance ships were kept separate from E-Nav’s own Mexican-flagged fleet. They were instead owned out of Singapore by E-Nav Radiance Offshore, and commercially managed by Pacific Radiance.
AD Ports said the deal included “well-established” contracts with blue chip clients in the oil and gas industry, as well as national and international oil companies in South East Asia and the Middle East.
The existing contracts for the ships are expected to result in utilisation levels of about 95% for the foreseeable future, AD Ports added.
“The investment is expected to generate more than $70m per annum in revenue in the next three to five years and the transaction would imply a 12-month forward EV/Ebitda of around 5.0x,” the company said.
‘Significant move’
Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, AD Ports Group’s managing director and CEO, said: "The expansion of our offshore fleet is a significant move in our strategic objective to fortify and enhance our Middle East and South East Asia footprint.
“We recognise the increasing demand in the energy sector, thereby, through bolstering our fleet, our Group is better positioned to demonstrate our role as a premier offshore service provider within these regions, whilst meeting the diverse and growing demands of our customers.”
AD Ports is an established offshore player in the Middle East offshore sector through its shipping arm Safeen Maritime Group, which VesselsValue lists as having a fleet of 13 offshore vessels. Two of these are former Pacific Radiance platform supply vessels that later migrated across to E-Nav and were sold to Safeen in 2022.
