Norwegian offshore vessel owner Eidesvik ƶijϻ has formed a joint venture with offshore services player Reach Subsea to acquire the subsea vessel Edda Sun.
The new entity will own and operate the Edda Sun, with Eidesvik as majority stakeholder. The joint venture is owned 50.1% by Eidesvik and 49.9% by Reach Subsea.
The Edda Sun was built in 2009 and is a Subsea IMR vessel equipped to perform subsea survey activities and a wide variety of inspection, maintenance and repair work.
Under its new name, Viking Reach, the vessel will start a 6-year contract with Reach Subsea, starting in the second quarter of 2023. In addition to being co-owner, Eidesvik will provide full technical management, crewing and operation of the vessel.
"Viking Reach will operate in the subsea market, which is one of Eidesvik’s strategic focus segments and a market with solid growth outlook for years to come," Eidesvik ƶijϻ said.
From left, Birgitte Wendelbo Johansen, CFO of Reach Subsea; Jostein Alendal, CEO of Reach Subsea; Gitte Gard Talmo, CEO & President of Eidesvik ƶijϻ, and Helga Cotgroce, CFO of Eidesvik. Photo: Eidesvik"The announcement of the joint venture follows Eidesvik’s announcement on February 22 that it has reached an agreement with its financial institutions on terms for refinancing the company’s debt until February 2026. The new terms will significantly strengthen Eidesvik’s financial position, and the final agreement is expected to be in place in March 2023," Eidesvik ƶijϻ added.
"Our new financial terms will offer us a solid foundation for growing our business. The acquisition of Edda Sun is part of the company’s growth strategy and we are pleased to expand our fleet with this highly versatile vessel. We look forward to cooperating with Reach Subsea in this exciting new venture”, said Eidesvik ƶijϻ CEO Gitte Gard Talmo.
"Eidesvik has been a strategic partner for Reach Subsea for many years and we are pleased to further strengthen our relationship. We are currently seeing record high activity in the subsea market and this joint venture represents an important step for us in terms of securing a long-term core fleet portfolio”, said CEO at Reach Subsea, Jostein Alendal.
