Bumi Armada to Sell Three Ice-class Vessels to Lukoil for $44.5M

Malaysian FPSO specialist and offshore support vessel owner Bumi Armada has decided to sell its icebreaking vessels operating in the Caspian Sea for Lukoil, in line with its plan to exit the offshore marine service business.

Bumi Armada said Wednesday that its board of directors had agreed to sell subsidiaries owning Ice-class vessels operating in the Caspian Sea for $44.5 million in cash. The company plans to use $38 million of the proceeds from the sale to reduce debt, with the remaining $6.5 million going toward working capital.

The four subsidiaries being sold, collectively referred to as "Ice Class Vessel Companies," are Bumi Armada Marine Uray, Bumi Armada Marine Pokachi, Bumi Armada Marine Naryan Mar, and Bumi Armada Marine.

The Ice Class Vessel Companies, other than Bumi Armada Marine which was incorporated in Russia in August 2014, with the principal activity of providing marine support and other services to oil and gas companies, own the Bumi Uray, Bumi Pokachi, and Bumi Naryan Mar vessels. 

The vessel trio has been workingfor Lukoil in the Russian section of the Caspian Sea since 2016 under charter party contracts, supporting offshore
platforms at the Filanovsky oil field in the northern part of the Caspian Sea, off the coast of Russia, providing year-round services such
as the delivery of cargoes, salvage, search and rescue functions, fire-fighting operations, and towing and tanker mooring operations.

Bumi Naryan Mar is an Ice-class multi-purpose duty rescue vessel, while Bumi Uray and Bumi Pokachi are ice-class supply vessels, all delivered in 2015 by Keppel Singmarine.

"Based on the interim financial statements for the 9-month financial period ended September 30, 2021, the Ice Class Vessel Companies recorded a combined loss after taxation of RM56.6 million [~$13,5 million ] and have combined net assets (“NA”) (including capital contribution) of RM219.9 million [~$52,5 million]," Bumi Armada said.

Bumi Armada will sell the subsidiaries along with the vessels to Lukoil's subsidiaries AC Management and K.N. Holding.

The company said that the sale amount was arrived at on a willing-buyer willing-seller basis, after taking into consideration the future cash flows from the charter party contracts with Lukoil.