Seajacks Planning to Double Its Fleet in 2012

GREAT YARMOUTH, England, Feb. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Seajacks International ("Seajacks") has entered into a contract with GustoMSC ("MSC") to provide the Basic Design Package for two or more newbuild wind farm installation jack-up vessels. The jack-ups, which will double the Seajacks fleet, are being designed specifically to service the wind farm installation market in the harsh operating environment of the North Sea, as well as to provide services to the oil and gas sectors.  

The vessels will be a modified version of the MSC NG5500 design, which incorporates a fully redundant DP2 propulsion system, accommodations for 90 persons, and an 800T leg encircling crane designed by MSC.

Seajacks has contracted MSC to develop the Basic Design Package, prior to final selection of a shipyard, in order to ensure the newbuild delivery schedule is maintained. Seajacks is anticipating the delivery of the first newbuild in Q1 2012, and then additional newbuilds shortly thereafter.

Seajacks currently owns and operates two self-propelled jack-up vessels out of Great Yarmouth in the United Kingdom, the Seajacks Kraken and Seajacks Leviathan. Both vessels are purpose built for installing offshore wind turbines, as well as being able to perform a number of niche operations for the North Sea oil and gas industry.

Blair Ainslie, Managing Director of Seajacks, said, "We are very excited about the additions to Seajacks'  fleet and look forward to offering this new generation of purpose built vessels to our clients. The new vessels will facilitate faster and more efficient installation of turbines and foundations offshore, and provide us with an excellent platform for expansion into other aspects of this growth industry."

On January 17, 2010, Riverstone Holdings LLC's ("Riverstone") most recent renewable energy fund completed its acquisition of Seajacks. Riverstone is an energy and power-focused private investment firm founded in 2000 with approximately $17 billion under management across six investment funds. Funding for further expansion of the Company's fleet will also be provided by the renewable energy fund, which is the world's largest.

Contact:

Blair Ainslie, Managing Director, Seajacks UK Limited, +44 1493 418070

SOURCE Seajacks International