Sven Rong, CEO in GC Rieber Shipping, comments: "This acquisition gives us ownership of two advanced and modern Inspection, Maintenance and Repair (IMR) vessels currently under construction. The acquisition also constitutes a part of our fleet renewal process - and the price level shall give us a competitive edge."

 

Sea4 I Shipping Ltd. and Sea 4 II Shipping Ltd have contracted two IMR subsea vessels of Skipsteknisk ST-254L CD design. The vessels are currently being built at Freire Shipyard (Spain) and expected delivery dates for the vessels are in the second half 2010 and in the first half 2011 respectively.

 

Both vessels have a length of 110.6m and beam of 20m. Each vessel is fitted with a 150t offshore AHC crane, 120 persons accommodation and 1000m2 deck space. Environmental topics have been emphasized in the design, through class notation "Clean Design", and will be built to IMO SPS 2008 rules.

 

GC Rieber Shipping has a communicated strategy of expanding in the value chain within the oil service market and has already established a strong position in the subsea market through its subsidiary Technocean. While the new vessels are multifunctional vessels, one option is to utilize the vessels to add high quality capacity to Technocean.

 

GC Rieber Shipping has a strong financial capacity with solid liquidity, low gearing and long contract coverage on several of the group's vessels. The acquisition of the Sea4 vessels will be funded through a combination of equity and debt financing.

 

 

 

GC Rieber Shipping's business in the offshore/shipping segment includes ownership of specialized vessels, high quality marine ship management, project development and industrial portfolio management within the offshore subsea, ice research and support and marine seismic segments. The company has a unique competence within offshore operations in harsh environments, as well as design, development and maritime operation of seismic vessels. Strategic investments in the value chain have added considerable know-how and experience to the company in terms of offshore subsea and marine seismic operations.

 

GC Rieber Shipping owns and operates seven advanced multifunctional special purpose vessels for defined markets within offshore subsea, ice research and support as well as the marine seismic segment. Through a joint venture company of which GC Rieber Shipping owns 51%, the company has contracted three new offshore vessels for delivery in 2009/2010. The company's strategic value chain investments include the subsea contractor Technocean (58 % stake), Octio Group, which specializes in permanent monitoring of oil fields (60 % stake) and the geotechnical company Bluestone Offshore (60 % stake). The company is also in charge of the ship management of ten seismic vessels owned by PGS, CGGVeritas and Fugro, as well as project management and building supervision for three advanced seismic new builds for PGS.

 

The company is headquartered in Bergen, Norway, with ship management offices in Sevenoaks (England), Singapore and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (Russia) for international representation. The company is listed on Oslo Børs with the ticker RISH. Additional information is available on the company's web site www.gcrieber-shipping.no.