Thenew vessel will be the second liftboat in the group’s fleet, the first being ajack-up rig which was acquired in 2012 and converted to an accommodation barge.
Theliftboat will be built in Guangzhou province in China at a total cost of about $46mand is expected to be delivered in December 2015.
Atlanticsaid it will use bank borrowings and internal resourcesto fund the newbuilding.
Italso has an option to build an additional vessel with the same undisclosed shipyardwhich can be exercised within six months.
“Ourutilisation rate continues to run high at over 90% and our first liftboat,which was deployed in January 2013, has contributed to the improvement in ourrevenue and operating results,” said Atlantic Navigation chief executive WongSiew Cheong.
“Withthis acquisition, we continue to drive our marine logistic services business towardshigher yielding segments of the market.
“Notwithstandingcompetitive pressures and barring unforeseen circumstances, we remain positiveon the charter prospects in the markets where we currently operate.
“We are also developing strategic opportunitiesin new markets and will continue to strengthen our fleet and broaden the marinespread offered to potential clients.”
AtlanticNavigation owns, operates and charters a fleet of 14 offshore support vesselsprimarily in the Middle East and India.
The company added a vessel in January 2014 thatis currently deployed on a three-year charter with a two-year extendableoption.
