Highlights of the Week

Subsea World News has put together a recap of the most interesting articles from the previous week (November  20– November 27).

Subsea contractor DeepOcean has a new majority owner in the company.

Funds advised by a private equity investment firm, Triton, will become the largest shareholder and should, in collaboration with some of the existing shareholders in DeepOcean, support the company’s growth over the coming years.

DeepOcean has also strengthened the company’s balance sheet and liquidity with an equity raise.

Neptune Marine Services (Neptune) has established an office in Houston, Texas as it is targets to expand its services within the Gulf of Mexico and the Americas.

Operating under the name Neptune Subsea, the company will be led by John Allen, a Houston-based strategic business development advisor, formerly of GE Oil and Gas. Allen is expected to drive the expansion and maximise Neptune’s opportunities in the region.

The Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) reported a diving incident on Friday which resulted in one of its two divers gone missing in Ie-Suido channel off the coast of Okinawa.

Namely, on November 14 a diver, Shohei Suzuki, did not return to the surface after a dive to install scientific equipment. The coastguards, police, fire rescue service and local fishermen made a surface search for the missing diver and the coastguards carried out underwater searches until forced to stop by nightfall.

Swiber Holdings’ indirect wholly-owned subsidiary, Swiber Atlantis Pte. Ltd. (SAPL), has entered into a memorandum of agreement to sell the derrick/lay combination barge ‘Sea Horizon’ to WAG SPV I.

The vessel will be sold for USD 10.25 million.

Sea Horizon, with a length of 110 meters and a beam of 30 meters, has been mortgaged in favor of DBS Bank (DBS) as security for the company’s obligations under certain banking facilities extended by DBS to the company.

FMC Technologies and Technip have received a clearance decision from the European Commission under Council Regulation for the proposed combination of the two companies into TechnipFMC.

Clearance decisions have previously been provided by antitrust authorities in the United States, India, Turkey, Mexico and Russia.

In addition, Technip and FMC Technologies announced their nominees to the board of directors of the combined company at the close of the proposed combination.