Prosafe further extends standstill agreement with Chinese shipyard

Offshore accommodation specialist Prosafe has further extended its standstill agreement with China’s shipbuilder Cosco for two semi-submersible accommodation rigs, Safe Nova and Safe Vega.

Prosafe said on Monday it continues to work with Cosco to find a comprehensive commercial solution for three of its accommodation units that currently reside in Cosco’s Qidong shipyard in China.

Namely, the Safe Eurus unit is in a preserved, strategic stacking mode and negotiations continue with Cosco, where it was built, to find a workable commercial solution.

Prosafe agreed a deferred delivery of flotel Safe Eurus with the Chinese shipbuilder to 4Q 2019, or such earlier time required by the company, back in July 2016. The flotel was originally scheduled for delivery that year.

In addition, Proafe said that the standstill agreement with Cosco related to Safe Nova and Safe Vega units has recently been extended until May 20, 2018. The previous extension, agreed in December 2017, expires on April 20, 2018.

Prosafe remains in negotiations with Cosco and related parties for a workable commercial solution for these two units, the company said.

If no agreement is reached, Prosafe has the right to claim cancellation of the newbuild contracts due to delay, and claim repayment of the installments paid including interest of $60 million in total, secured by a refund guarantee from Bank of China.

Prosafe bought these two accommodation rigs from Axis Offshore in 2016 while they were still being built by the Chinese shipyard.

Offshore Energy Today Staff