Nam Cheong Beefs Up Portfolio

Singapore Main Board-listed Nam Cheong Limited  has sold one 5,150 bhp Anchor Handling Towing Supply Vessel (AHTS) to Norway’s Vega Offshore Group, and two 6,500 bhp AHTS; one  to Dutch Vroon B.V., and the other to an unnamed ”repeat customer” in Asia.

The company says that these three contract wins worth approximately USD 41 million came on the back of five vessel sale to the Indonesian shipping company  PT Pelayaran Nasional Bina Buana Raya tbk (BBR), secured during the same month, bringing the total orders in September 2014 to eight, collectively worth approximately USD 126.0 million.

The eight vessels, including the five vessels sold to BBR, are all of American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) class and are being constructed as part of Nam Cheong’s built-to-stock series in the company’s subcontracted yards in China. These vessels are scheduled for delivery in 2014 and 2015.

Nam Cheong has also been active on other fronts, entering into a binding agreement with Marco Polo Marine Limited in relation to a proposed investment in Marco Polo’s indirect subsidiary – BBR.

Nam Cheoung  has agreed to invest around USD 30.7 million in BBR, which will secure the company approximately 30% of BBR’s enlarged share capital. As part of the agreement and the proposed investment, BBR had entered into memorandums of agreement with Nam Cheong to purchase the above mentioned five vessels.

Leong Seng Keat, Nam Cheong’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “We are delighted that our efforts in building Nam Cheong into a robust enterprise have continued to transcend geographical boundaries.

Looking ahead, we are confident that our core focus on our shipbuilding and chartering businesses will light the path forward while our investments and strategic collaborations with Marco Polo Marine Limited recently will reap rewards for Nam Cheong in years to come.

In addition, we will continue to direct our efforts within the shallow water segment of the OSV industry which is more resilient to oil price fluctuations and has largely helped to drive our contract wins.”