Atlantic Navigation, a provider of marine logistics services, has, through its country representative in the Middle East, been awarded a $44 million charter contract for its liftboat, the AOS Maintainer I.
The contract was awarded by a Middle Eastern National Oil Company (NOC).
According to Atlantic Navigation, the vessel, on a firm one-year charter with two one-year extension options, will support the NOC’s operations in the Arabian Gulf. The vessel is expected to be deployed in early May 2017, after completion of retrofitting work to comply with contractual requirements.
The group announced in May 2016 that it had secured long-term contracts for ten offshore supply vessels on a firm five-year charter, with a two-year extension option, of a combined value of approximately $236 million with the NOC to support the NOC’s operations in the Arabian Gulf.
Two of the vessels have been delivered to the NOC in 2016 and the third vessel was deployed in January 2017. The remaining seven vessels which are to be newbuilds, will be deployed over the second half of 2017 following their delivery, the company said.
Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Atlantic Navigation, Bill Wong , said, “The extended fall in crude oil price over the last 24 months, with project cancellation, postponement and expenditure cut by NOCs, oil majors and operators had resulted in severe challenges in the oil and marine sector and the group is, like all companies in the industry, working on sustainable cost reductions to improve near- and long-term profitability.
“Despite these conditions, we continue to pursue our growth strategy together with our regional partners, particularly in our core market in the Middle East.”