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Siem Offshore gets nod for debt restructuring

Siem Offshore gets nod for debt restructuring
Norway’s offshore vessels operator Siem Offshore has been given the nod by all of its financing banks to go ahead with debt restructuring in the face of “expected challenging market in the coming years.”

The approvals would give Siem Offshore a financial platform to reposition the company and hopefully allow it to regain financial stability.

The financing banks have allowed a three-year extension of the final bullet payments of all mortgage debt due before 31 December 2019, deferral of instalments for the fleet of AHTS vessels for 2.5 years with a cash sweep mechanism, as well as easing of certain covenant requirements to the company’s banks for the next three years.

Payment of interest and instalments on all bank debt except for debt related to AHTS vessels will continue as normal.

The agreement is conditional on a restructuring of the company’s two public bonds, Siem Offshore updated on Friday.

“It is further agreed to establish a standalone AHTS vessel company, Siem AHTS Pool AS (SAP), where Siem Offshore Inc. through its subsidiary Siem Offshore Rederi AS has sold all its eight AHTS vessels and the pool partner Singa Star has sold two AHTS vessels to SAP,” Siem Offshore stated.

All the vessels have in the past been operated in a pool agreement between Siem Offshore and Singa Star. Post the transaction, Siem Offshore and Singa Star will hold shares in SAP in proportion to the net value of the vessels transferred to SAP, representing a share for Siem Offshore of 78.16% and Singa Star of 21.84%.