GMMOS to expand OSV fleet

UAE-based GMMOS (Gulf Marine Maintenance and Offshore Service Company) has secured a US$100 million term loan facility from Standard Chartered Bank, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank to refinance existing debt and fund acquisitions in the offshore supply vessel (OSV) sector.

As a result the GMMOS fleet is expected to increase from 28 OSVs to 34 OSVs by the end of 2009. A number of the new vessels to be acquired operate on a term charter basis in South East Asia, supplementing the group's current activities in the GCC and India and further expanding the Group's client base. As a result of the acquisitions, GMMOS Group fleet age is estimated to be well below the average age in the sector.

GMMOS Group has four divisions centered on two main activities: Marine and Engineering. In Marine, GMMOS activities include Stanford Marine, an OSV charter operator in the Gulf currently expanding in South East Asia and India, and Grandweld,a leader in shipbuilding and ship repair in the Gulf focusing on the OSV segment. Engineering activities include GMMOS Fabrication, an oil and gas specialized steel fabricator of pressure vessels and skid modules with operations in the UAE and Kazakhstan. GMMOS is 51 percent owned by a fund managed by Dubai-based Abraaj Capital and the remainder by Abu Dhabi-listed Waha Capital. Abraaj Capital is the Middle East's largest private equity group. Waha Capital PJSC is an Abu Dhabi-based and Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange-listed diversified investments holding company.