Bourbon, the French offshore company, has put its diversification into gas shipping on hold due to difficulties in raising the finance. The company specifically said the required financing for the acquisition of the gas activities of Jaccar Holdings would not be obtained within the timeframe stated in the agreement governing the investment. The company said it now wants to reinforce its position in its main market, offshore, enabling it to take advantage of the recovery of activity in offshore when it happens. The company will then be able to take the next step into gas shipping.

In January, Bourbon launched a project to acquire the gas-related holdings of Jaccar Holdings, comprising vessels and a platform in China dedicated to technological developments and manufacturing. The details of the deal involved purchasing 100% of Greenship Gas, a Singapore-based shipping trust that owns, directly or indirectly, a fleet of 17 vessels (13 of which are in service), purpose- built for carrying ethane, ethylene and mid-size LNG. The deal also involved buying 100% of Evergas, a commercial operator offering gas transport services, and 100% of Greenship Gas Manager, the entity that manages the Greenship Gas shipping trust. Bourbon’s stated objective was to diversify into gas shipping and related logistics services and the overall amount of the proposed transaction was $320 million.

Havyard, a Norwegian shipbuilder/ designer, announced on 6th June that it has managed to win a major contract for design and equipment of an 81.9m long & 17.6m wide multipurpose vessel (above). In addition to design, Havyard will also deliver ship equipment system packages with a total value of more than NOK 100 million, including Havyard’s own Concept Bridge. The vessel at the centre of this order is the Havyard 832 MPV, a multifunctional vessel. The ship is going to be constructed at the Cemre Shipyard in Turkey for the shipping company Esvagt, and will be in operation for the American Hess Corporation. This will become the sixth Havyard vessel contracted by Esvagt. The other contracts are four Wind Service Operation Vessels and one Crew Change Vessel. The latest contract is the first one within the oil segment. Work on design and ship equipment system packages will commence immediately and the vessel is due to be delivered during spring 2018. The ship will have a speed of 15 knots and a bollard pull of 100 tonnes.

VARD Holdings Board of Directors were notified in May that the Harkand Group had entered into administration. Harkand has one Diving Support and Construction Vessel under construction at Vard, originally contracted in December 2013 for delivery from VARD Søviknes in the second quarter of 2016. The vessel is in an advanced stage of construction and VARD will contractually be entitled to retain the advance payments already received, equivalent to 20% of the original contract price, and to resell the vessel.

Viking Supply Ships, a Swedish company, entered into a principle agreement with lenders on 2nd May and anticipated completing a restructure of its business in the near future. Norseman Offshore has since taken struggling company to court in Copenhagen. Norseman is the owner of the vessel Odin Viking which is on a bareboat charter with Sweden’s Viking. A petition for bankruptcy has been made on the basis of $2.5m unpaid charter fees, something that Viking Supply Ships is rigorously defending itself against.

Ulstein AHT Named The ALP Striker (above) was christened on 13th May 2016. She is the first of four ultra-long distance towing and anchor handling vessels for ALP Maritime Services, each with a bollard pull of approx. 300 tonnes. The vessels of the SX157 design are a part of the ALP Future class. The service speed is 13 knots, whilst the top speed is 19 knots. With a fuel capacity of more than 3,500m3, the vessels can tow at full power for 45 days, sufficient for non-stop Trans-Atlantic/ Indian, Pacific Ocean towing operations without fuel calls. The vessels are constructed by Niigata Shipbuilding & Repair, Japan.