NAO firms up PSV duo order at Vard

Vard 1 08 design PSV

JUNE 23, 2014 — Nordic American Offshore Ltd. (NYSE:NAO) has firmed up a letter of intent announced earlier this month and entered into agreements to purchase two newbuilding Platform Supply Vessels (PSVs). It says the price of the ships is about $43 million each.

The 81 m x 18 m Vard vessels are of VARD 1 08 design, developed by Vard Design in Ålesund, Norway. The hulls of the 4,000 dwt vessels will be built at Vard’s Braila shipyard Romania. Delivery is scheduled from Vard Aukra in Norway in the second and third quarters of 2015.

NAO got started by buying the six Blue Ship PX121 platform supply vessels that the Ulstein Group built for itself at its Ulstein Verft shipyard and has since taken an option with Ulstein for three more. It says that the Vard newbuilds are of “essentially similar design and capabilities as its current fleet” and are particularly well suited for operations in the North Sea and in cold climate conditions.

The delivery of these two newbuildings will increase the company’s fleet to 10 PSVs during the second and third quarter of 2015.