Norwegian court launches investigation into Oceanteam

Oceanteam, a Dutch Norwegian offshore support vessel provider, will be appealing a ruling made by a Norwegian court, ordering the launch of an investigation into the company as requested by its shareholders. 

The municipal court of Bergen in September 2017 received a petition for a public investigation filed by the company’s shareholders.

Oceanteam in September confirmed that the petition for the investigation had been filed but provided no further details about the reasons for the investigation.

Oceanteam on Friday, February 9 received the ruling from the court, which concludes that an investigation of certain related party transactions will be initiated.

“The company and its legal counsel is of the opinion that there are no legal grounds for an investigation and that the court’s ruling is incorrect. The ruling will therefore be appealed,” Oceanteam said in the Friday statement.

The company also added that it would provide the market with further updates “in due course.”

Back in November 2017 Oceanteam suspended the services of its auditor in Norway, KPMG. The decision was made based on Oceanteam’s investigative findings regarding audit costs that were charged for work not performed. The company also launched an additional investigation by an independent expert for the fiscal years 2015, 2016 and 2017 to re-evaluate the services and charges made by the auditing company.

Following the suspension, KPMG that same month withdrew its services as statutory auditor in Norway with immediate effect, prompting Oceanteam to dispute the validity of such resignation.

In related news, Oceanteam revealed earlier on Friday that the construction support vessel (CSV) Southern Ocean had been awarded a contract for work in the Asia Pacific region. The vessel is owned by a joint venture between Bourbon Offshore Norway and Oceanteam.

Oceanteam is comprised of two operating segments, Oceanteam Shipping and Oceanteam Solutions. Through these two units, the company owns, charters and manages deep-water offshore support vessels and fast support vessels and provides its clients with offshore solutions.

Offshore Energy Today Staff