Farstad agrees newbuild sale and leaseback with Ocean Yield

Farstad Shipping ASA has, through its wholly owned subsidiary Farstad Supply AS, reached an agreement with Ocean Yield of a sale and leaseback of two AHTS. The vessels, both UT 731 CD design, are under construction at Vard Langsten in Tomrefjord, Norway, (previously STX OSV Langsten) for delivery in March and May 2013 respectively.

The agreement with Ocean Yield implies an immediate sale of the vessels from Farstad Supply AS to Ocean Yield upon delivery of the vessels from the shipyard. The vessels will then be leased back to Farstad Supply AS on a 12 year bareboat charter. The agreement includes options for Farstad Supply AS to buy back the vessels.

The parties have agreed to keep the commercial terms of the agreement confidential,

Ocean Yield, a wholly owned subsidiary of Aker ASA, notes that the vessels are high-end AHTS vessels with 24,371 BHP and 265 mt bollard pull and says that it has secured long-term export financing for approximately 75 per cent of the purchase price on attractive terms. The remaining amount will be funded with equity. The transaction will add approximately 20 percent to Ocean Yield's EBITDA contract backlog.

"We are very pleased to announce this transaction with Farstad Shipping ASA, a company with an excellent standing and track record in the supply vessel market,'' Ocean Yield's Chief Executive Officer Lars Solbakken said. "This transaction confirms our ability to generate sale and leaseback transactions with high quality counterparts and is an important step towards building a larger and more diversified portfolio of vessels before the listing of the company on the Oslo Stock Exchange".