Viking Supply Ships has entered into a sale- and leaseback transaction with Norseman Offshore AS

Viking Supply Ships A/S (VSS) has entered into a sale and leaseback transaction with Norseman Offshore AS for the AHTS vessel Odin Viking. In the transaction the vessel is priced at MUSD 52.85 and a seller’s credit of MUSD 5.4 has been granted.

Viking Supply Ships will record an accounting loss of around MUSD 2.5 and an improvement in liquidity of around MUSD 25 as a result of this transaction.

The bareboat agreement with Norseman Offshore AS has duration of 8 years with purchase and put options in the charter period. VSS will be responsible for all operating and maintenance costs during the charter. The lease will be classified as an operational lease in VSS’ financial statements.

Viking Supply Ships’ core business is within the offshore and offshore/icebreaking segment on a worldwide basis. The fleet comprises of three AHTS/icebreakers, four ice classed AHTS´ along, one conventional AHTS, in addition to six Platform Supply Vessels. VSS holds a unique expertise within the general offshore industry dating back to the start of the company in 1974. 

Norseman Offshore AS is a single purpose company established by Pareto Project Finance AS. Pareto Project Finance is the leading arranger of shipping, offshore and real estate projects in Norway and has arranged projects since 1985. Today, the portfolio of Pareto Project Finance comprises more than 150 projects under management, with a value in excess of NOK 35 billion. Pareto Project Finance has about 70 employees and is part of the Pareto Group.

  
For further information, please contact:

Christian W. Berg, CEO Viking Supply Ships, ph +45 41 77 83 80.

  
Rederi AB TransAtlantic is a leading Swedish shipping company with headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden and additional offices in Europe. The company is organized into two business areas: Industrial Shipping and Viking Supply Ships. The company has about 850 employees and the turnover in 2011 was MSEK 2,989. The Industrial Shipping business area consists of three divisions: Bulk, Container and RoRo. The company’s B-shares are listed on the NASDAQ OMX Stockholm, Small Cap segment. www.rabt.se

TransAtlantic is obliged to make this information public according to the Financial Markets Act and/or the Financial Instruments Trading Act (Sw: lagen om värdepappersmarknaden and lagen om handel med finansiella instrument). The information was submitted for publication on December 20, 2012 at 4.30 p.m.