South Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) has reached an agreement with the Russian state-owned shipping company Sovcomflot to postpone the delivery of an ice-breaking liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessel which was scheduled to join its owner in June 2016.
The shipbuilder set the new date at the end of January 2017, postponing the delivery by seven months, according to a stock exchange filing from DSME.
SCF and DSME signed the USD 316 million worth agreement for the new ARC7 ice-class tanker in March 2014. Ordered under a USD 5 billion newbuild program for 16 ice-breaking LNG carriers, the new ship is designed to transport LNG from a gas field in the Yamal Peninsula (Yamal LNG), Siberia.
In a separate announcement, DSME revealed an additional self-restructuring plan amid the falling shipbuilding orders.
The company’s creditors, led by the state-run Korea Development Bank, will now decide on the new self-rescue plan which proposes a further cut in DSME’s workforce and wages, as well as temporary closure of docks, the Korea Herald cited industry sources.
Additionally, DSME denied rumors on the sale of their naval business, however the company said that they are reviewing it.
DSME posted a KRW 5.13 trillion (USD 4.3 billion) worth loss for the full year of 2015, as its sales fell by 23% when compared to the previous year standing at KRW 12.97 trillion, while the company’s operating loss amounted to KRW 5.51 trillion.
The poor results were attributed to falling number of newbuilding orders and further delivery delays in its offshore segment that continued their negative effect on the company’s financial results.
World Maritime News Staff