Havila Shipping to Take Ownership of 5 Platform Supply Vessels

- Havila Shipping to Take Ownership of 5 Platform Supply Vessels

Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Havila Shipping ASA

Havila Shipping has entered into an agreement with its controlling shareholder Havila AS and Havila AS' wholly-owned subsidiary Havvåg AS for the purpose of transferring Havila AS' indirect ownership interests in the five platform supply vessels MV Havila Fortune, MV Havila Aurora, MV Havila Borg, MV Havila Commander and MV Havila Crusader (the "PSVs") to the Company (the "Transaction").

The transfer of the ownership interest in the PSVs to the Company will be carried out through a transfer of the shares in subsidiaries of Havila AS and interests in Havila PSV DIS as contribution in kind against the issue of shares in the Company.

Havila AS' ownership interests in the PSVs are primarily held by private limited companies, wholly- or partly-owned subsidiaries of Havila AS, which in turn hold ownership interests in the partnerships owning the PSVs, provided, however, that Havila AS holds some interests directly in Havila PSV DIS (the "SPVs").

Following completion of the Agreement, the Company will, indirectly, be the owner of 40% in MV Havila Crusader and MV Havila Commander, 49% in MV Havila Borg and 50% in MV Havila Aurora and MV Havila Fortune. MV Havila Aurora, MV Havila Borg and MV Havila Fortune are currently managed by the Company (commercial and technical management), while MV Havila Commander and MV Havila Crusader are on 8-year bareboat charters to the Company. All PSVs are currently operational and on contracts of variable lengths, with remaining duration between two months and five years, offering a balanced market exposure.

The acquisition of a controlling stake in the two PSVs currently leased, MV Havila Commander and MV Havila Crusader is expected to improve earnings significantly through a reduction of net leasing costs, which is currently approximately NOK 100 million annually, and improving the overall financial structure of the Company through replacing leasing with traditional financing.

The acquisition of three additional PSVs, MV Havila Aurora, MV Havila Borg and MV Havila Fortune, is also considered favourable as the Company already operates all of these PSVs, with solid operating performance. These PSVs have remaining contract durations of approximately two months, one year and five years (plus options), respectively, providing Havila Shipping with growth at a favourable
entry point for expansion in the supply market, and at the same providing balanced contract mix.

The financing of all PSVs will be continued under new ownership.

As part of the transactions, the Company will cancel the Total Return Swap on approximately 1.05 million shares. The reason for this, is that the Company having such financial exposure to its own share price is outside the key business scope of the Company.

The SPVs and the PSVs

The Company's acquisition of ownership interests in the PSVs will be carried out through the transfer of Havila AS' shares and interests in the following companies:

• Havship I AS - MV Havila Fortune
  • The Company will acquire 100% of the shares of Havship I AS ("Havship I"), which in turn holds 50% of the outstanding ownership interests in P/R Havship DA, a Norwegian partnership with apportioned liability and business registration number 993 442 003 ("PR Havship I").
  • PR Havship I owns the PSV MV Havila Fortune. MV Havila Fortune is a PSV MT6009 MkII (3,205 dwt), which was built in 2008. It is on contract with Maritime Logistic Services AS until August 2011, and has an option for 3 further wells.
  • The board of directors of Havship I comprises Per Sævik as chairman and sole board member and Njål Sævik as deputy board member. Per Sævik is also the general manager. There are no employees in Havship I.
• Havila Aurora AS - MV Havila Aurora
  • The Company will acquire 100% of the shares of Havila Aurora AS ("Havila Aurora"), which in turn holds 50% of the outstanding ownership interests in P/R Havship II DA, a Norwegian partnership with apportioned liability and business registration number 894 084 782 ("PR Havship II").
  • PR Havship II owns the PSV MV Havila Aurora. MV Havila Aurora is a PSV MT6009 MkII (3,205 dwt), which was built in 2009. It is on contract with Total until March 2016, with an additional option for 2 years.
  • The board of directors of Havila Aurora consists of Per Sævik (chairman), Njål Sævik, Hege Sævik Rabben and Vegard Sævik. Per Sævik is also the general manager. There are no employees in Havila Aurora.
• Havila Borg AS - MV Havila Borg
  • The Company will acquire 100% of the shares of Havila Borg AS ("Havila Borg"), which in turn holds 49% of the outstanding ownership interest in P/R Havship III DA, a Norwegian partnership with apportioned liability and business registration number 994 760 890 ("PR Havship III").
  • PR Havship III owns the PSV MV Havila Borg. MV Havila Borg is a PSV Havyard 832 (4,000 dwt), which was built in 2009. It is on contract with Shell until July 2012 with a 1 year option.
  • The board of directors of Havila Borg consists of Per Sævik (chairman), Njål Sævik and Kjell Rabben. Njål Sævik is also the general manager. There are no employees in Havila Borg.
• Havila PSV AS and Havila PSV DIS - MV Havila Commander and MV Havila Crusader.
  • The Company will acquire 37%, and indirectly (through its wholly owned subsidiary Havila PSV AS ("HPSV AS")) an additional 3%, of the outstanding ownership interest in Havila PSV DIS, a Norwegian silent partnership ("HPSV").
  • HPSV controls the PSVs MV Havila Commander and MV Havila Crusader. MV Havila Commander and MV Havila Crusader are both PSV VS485 (4,900 dwt), which were built in 2010. MV Havila Commander is on contract with ConocoPhilips until mid July 2011, then three months with Maersk Oil & Gas and MV Havila Crusader is on contract with Talisman until November 2011 with two six-month options.
  • The boards of directors of HPSV AS and HPSV consist of Svein Sandvik (chairman), Njål Sævik and Richard Jansen. There are no employees in any of these companies.

PR Havship I, PR Havship II, PR Havship III and HPSV are jointly referred to as the "Partnerships".

Further, the Company intends to increase its ownership in the PSVs to 100% of MV Havila Fortune, Havila Aurora and Havila Borg and 74% of the ownership interests in Havila PSV DIS (MV Havila Commander and MV Havila Crusader) through an acquisition from the third party owners of Partnerships against cash consideration, provided, however, that Mavi VX shall transfer its shares in the partnerships owning MV Havila Aurora, MV Havila Borg and MV Havila Fortune to Havila Shipping as contribution-in-kind against shares in Havila Shipping. The calculation in these acquisitions shall be calculated on the same basis as the consideration in this Transaction.

[No agreements have been, or will be, entered into in connection with the Agreement for the benefit of the parties' board members or management.]

The consideration and settlement

The consideration in the Transaction comprises the aggregate value of the shares transferred to Havila Shipping, which for each of the SPVs is calculated on the basis of (i) the market value of the PSVs as of December 31, 2010 (based on shipbroker valuations as of March 31, 2011, and for MV Havila Commander and MV Havila Crusader also reflecting the Company's purchase options starting in
2012), (ii) value adjusted equity related to the other assets and liabilities in the relevant Partnerships as of December 31, 2010, and (iii) the net profit excluding depreciations of the relevant Partnership in the period from January 1, 2011 to July 19, 2011. The purchase price will comprise the total value of each Partnership adjusted for the percentage of ownership interests not transferred to Havila Shipping.

Based on the above and an agreed total value for the 5 PSVs in the amount of NOK 1,503 million on a 100% basis, the aggregate value of the shares transferred to Havila Shipping is expected to amount to NOK 149.7 million, which is subject to adjustments for the actual net profit in the period up to July 19, 2011.

The subscription price for each share issued to Havila AS against contribution in kind will be equal to the subscription price in the Company's contemplated private placement announced on June 27, 2011. The indicative price range in the private placement is between NOK 52.50 and NOK 57.50, and the final subscription price will be determined by the Board of Directors after completion of the book-building period, expected to end on July 1, 2011.

The number of shares to be issued to Havila AS as consideration for the contribution-in-kind with an aggregate value of NOK 149.7 million and a subscription price at the mid-point of the price range (i.e. NOK 55), is 2,721,203 shares.

The shares will be issued by the Board of Directors pursuant to its authorization to increase the share capital of the Company granted by the general meeting held on April 28, 2011.

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CGGVeritas to Expand Fleet with 6 BOURBON Support Vessels

- CGGVeritas to Expand Fleet with 6 BOURBON Support Vessels

Tuesday, June 28, 2011
CGGVeritas

CGGVeritas has signed a five-year marine charter agreement with BOURBON for six new support vessels to assist its seismic operations. The new vessels will be delivered starting at the end of 2012.

Jean-Georges Malcor, CEO of CGGVeritas, said, "This agreement to charter vessels to support our seismic acquisition operations is another step in our ambitious plan to improve the performance of our fleet and streamline the number of our maritime partners. CGGVeritas will benefit from the expertise of the BOURBON group and its commitment to the highest standards of operating quality and safety worldwide."

"We are delighted to have been chosen by CGGVeritas, which comes as further confirmation of BOURBON's capacity to adapt to meet the needs of its clients," announced Christian Lefèvre, CEO of BOURBON. "At the same time, this agreement emphasizes BOURBON's recognized expertise in the design and management of marine service vessels. The construction of a new segment of vessels for our fleet fits perfectly with the investments we are making under the BOURBON 2015 strategic plan."

The chartered vessels will support CGGVeritas seismic vessels during their survey operations around the world, by providing them with the requisite ancillary services including refueling, crew change, food and equipment delivery, storage, assistance, and support during in-sea maintenance operations. In addition, their unique hybrid propulsion will offer exceptional operational flexibility and low energy consumption.

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Farstad Shipping to Build 2 New Vessels

- Farstad Shipping to Build 2 New Vessels

Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Farstad Shipping ASA

Farstad Shipping has reached an agreement with STX OSV AS to build 2 Anchor Handling / Offshore Service vessels (AHTS) of the type UT 731 CD. Contract value is approx. NOK 1.2 billion.

The vessels are designed by Rolls Royce Marine with a total length of 87.4 meters and breadth of 21.0 meters. Bollard pull will be approx. 260 tons and installed power is approx. 24 000 BHP. The vessels will be built according to DNV's strictest environmental class - "Clean Design" - and will be arranged for safe and efficient deepwater operations. The newbuilds are of the same design as Langsten has previously delivered four of to Farstad during 2009-2010.

The steel hulls will be built in Romania and outfitting yard will be STX OSV Langsten in Tomrefjord. Delivery of the vessels will be April and June 2013 respectively.

These newbuilds are part of Farstad's fleet renewal and focus on the segment for deepwater activities.

With this latest order Farstad will have 8 vessels under construction at a contract value of NOK 3.2 billion.

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Farstad Shipping Orders 2 Platform Supply Vessels

- Farstad Shipping Orders 2 Platform Supply Vessels

Friday, May 20, 2011
Farstad Shipping ASA

Farstad Sipping ASA has declared their options for building 2 platform supply vessels (PSV) at STX OSV. One of the vessels will be built at the STX Yard in Vietnam and one at the STX Yard in Tomrefjord, Norway (Langsten).

The newbuilds are part of Farstad Shipping's continuous fleet renewal and represent an investment of approx. NOK 600 mill. Delivery of the vessels will take place during first half of 2013.

The vessels ordered are of the STX PSV 08 CD design, identical to three of the vessels ordered in November 2010. This design is a newly developed, medium sized, diesel electric PSV with a net deck area of approx. 800 m².

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India to Develop Vessels to Explore Ocean Floor for Resources

India to Develop Vessels to Explore Ocean Floor for Resources

Monday, April 11, 2011
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
by Jacob P. Koshy, Mint, New Delhi

India plans to spend '500 crore in developing a series of specialized vessels capable of scouring deep ocean floors for minerals, metals and gas hydrates.

Several South Asian nations, including Sri Lanka, Myanmar and India, have laid claim to large but little explored swathes of the Indian Ocean for exclusive mining rights. A United Nations (UN) body is expected to decide on this later this decade.

Experts say India's limited fossil fuel resources made it necessary for the nation to develop deep-sea technological capabilities within the decade.

"We have to adequately prepare ourselves with such technology for in the future countries are unlikely to share such know-how," said a Planning Commission official, who did not want to be identified. "By the time the UN decides, we should have at least three-to-five indigenous developed vehicles that can explore the sea at different depths."

An official in the science and technology ministry, who also did not want to be identified, confirmed the program.

Key untapped mineral resources in the sea include polymetallic nodules and cobalt-rich manganese crust. The nodules, which resemble coal, contain copper, cobalt, nickel and manganese and are viewed as potential resources to meet increasing global demand for these metals. Gas hydrates are crystalline solids consisting of gas molecules, usually methane, each surrounded by a cage of water molecules, akin to ice.

According to preliminary government estimates, India has access to about 0.5 million sq. km in the Indian Ocean, which could be worth about '5,000 crore in resources.

Currently only Chennai-based National Institute of Ocean Technology has developed a robotic crawler that can plunge to 5,000m and be remote-controlled by ship to scour precious metals and minerals.

Only four other countries-- China, France, the US and Russia--have robotic vehicles that plumb those depths.

Although several private companies--mostly American--have developed robotic vehicles for similar purposes, renting them is enormously expensive.

"Along with the cost of the ship and man-days spent in launching the vehicle, it can work out to several lakhs a day," said Ananda Ramadoss, a senior researcher at the institute and a key scientist associated with developing the robotic vehicle.

Bharath Rajeshwar, a defence analyst who specializes in international mining agreements, said it was high time India embarked on a strategic, technology program to tap the ocean's wealth.

"We can't afford to go at the same pace as India's space program. The race for precious metals is going to get more vicious over the decade with a rise in electronics hardware," said Rajeshwar. "India can't afford to be an importer (of metals) forever."