John Fredriksen’s private Seatankers group achieved an astonishing price for two platform supply vessels it sold to Fugro earlier this year.
The Dutch contractor said it had acquired the 5,200-dwt Sea Goldcrest (built 2019) and Sea Gull (built 2020) for conversion into geotechnical vessels for offshore wind farm work.
No price was ever disclosed, but TradeWinds is told by multiple broking sources that the two ships went for about $40m and $42m, respectively.
Seatankers picked up the duo as resales in 2018 at $19m each from Fujian Mawei Shipbuilding in China.
One source said the price tag was “massive compared to other recent sales but not difficult to believe given the size and extra capacities of these assets”.
“It also makes sense in light of Fugro’s intended use for them, as the alternative could easily represent a whole lot more,” the source added.
The price is also well ahead of the $30m-plus they cost to order back in 2013.
VesselsValue assesses the Sea Goldcrest as worth $24m and the Sea Gull at $28m currently.
They were worth about $15m and $16m two years ago, but offshore vessel markets have since rebounded from a prolonged slump.
The Sea Gull had been on a three-year charter to Fugro that was agreed last year at $26,000 per day.
Fugro declined to comment.
Shortage of ships
The company has identified a shortage of geotechnical-capable vessels.
Fugro had earlier said the offshore wind market continues to grow rapidly, adding: “The acquisition is in line with Fugro’s strategy to capture this market growth opportunity.”
“With the purchase of these strategic assets, Fugro will operate a balanced fleet of owned and chartered vessels, maintaining flexibility towards the future,” it added.
Fugro’s aim for the coming four years is to secure long-term vessel capacity, especially for the global offshore wind market, which has a large need for mapping soil composition and its associated properties via the extraction and testing of soil samples.
The conversion of the Sea Goldcrest will be done this year so that it can be operational early in 2025.
The Sea Gull will be ready late in 2024 or early 2025.
