France’s Jifmar Offshore Services is buying 26 offshore work vessels owned by Dutch group Acta Marine.
The deal also encompasses 200 seafarers, plus the Netherlands-based shore operation and all of its contracts.
No price has been given for the move, which will boost the Jifmar fleet to 72 ships.
Acta Marine’s offshore wind construction support and walk-to-work activities are excluded.
Jean Michel Berud, chief executive of European Investment Bank (EIB)-owned Jifmar, said: “Together with Acta Marine Workboats (AMW), Jifmar will become the world’s largest independent operator of workboats.
“We have now obtained a strong base in the Netherlands, being a centre for international workboat activities.”
The division, specialising in shallow water and coastal projects, will continue to be run in Den Helder under the Jifmar brand.
Govert Jan van Oord, managing director of Van Oord family-back AMW, will transfer with the business.
He said: “Within Jifmar, we found a new strong home for our workboat activities, and together with Jifmar we will be able to offer a broader range of services to our clients all over the world.”
Acta will keep its Amsterdam office and focus on its three walk-to-work ships, plus the four construction operation service vessels (CSOVs) it had on order at Tersan Shipyard in Turkey.
These will run on methanol and biodiesel.
EIB backing
In 2022, the European Investment Bank bought a 65% stake in Jifmar for an undisclosed sum through its €705m (then $849m) Marguerite II infrastructure fund.
The holding was acquired from RAISE Investissement, which had been supporting the company since 2016.
Jifmar was set up in 2005 for oil and gas work, but has since expanded into subsea and renewables.
Co-founders Berud and chairman Foad Zahedi remained in place.
The EIB said it aimed to support Jifmar in its transition to next-generation offshore service vessel operations to address the decarbonisation challenges of the sector.
In 2020, Jifmar formed a joint venture to build a new sail-powered ro-ro to carry rocket parts for French aerospace player ArianeGroup.
The 121-metre ship, called Canopee, was built by Dutch company Neptune Marine.
The ro-ro will carry parts for the Ariane 6 rocket from Europe to the launch pad in French Guiana.
Delivered last year, the vessel is operated by Alizes, a venture run by Jifmar and Zephyr & Boree.
