Journey from oil & gas to other markets: Malaysian firm buys cable laying barge

Keyfield International, a Malaysian provider of offshore accommodation vessels to the oil & gas industry, is making its way into the cable laying business with the acquisition of a 98-meter-long cable laying barge.

Keyfield Ventures (Labuan) Limited (KVL), a newly incorporated 100%-owned subsidiary of Keyfield, has entered into a memorandum of agreement (MoA) to acquire a brand new cable-laying barge proposed to be renamed as Keyfield Blessing (KBlessing) for a cash purchase consideration of $20.55 million from Chinese shipbuilder Taizhou Sanfu Ship Engineering.

The purchase will be fully funded by internally generated funds of the Keyfield group without any borrowings, with the purchase consideration expected to be fully paid by the second quarter of 2025, upon which KBlessing’s ownership will be transferred to KVL.

The company had already entered into an agreement with China’s Dejing Group, active in power transmission and marine engineering construction, to charter the vessel on a bareboat charter for a firm period of one year, plus an optional one-year extension at KVL’s option, valued at $9.1 million including such extension option.

KBlessing is currently located in Taizhou, China, where it is expected to be simultaneously delivered to the Keyfield group and thereafter to Dejing at the same location to commence the charter.

It will then immediately be mobilised to Saudi Arabia for the Farasan Submarine Cable Project, which will link Farasan Island to Saudi Arabia’s main electrical grid. Dejing was awarded a contract by Hengtong Optic-Electric to supply the cable lay spread, including vessel, equipment and manpower for the project that involves over 300 kilometers of submarine power cables and over 110 kilometers of submarine fiber optic cables.

After the current charter ends, KBlessing will be redelivered to Malaysia/Singapore.

The Panama-flagged specialised DP2 barge is designed to install offshore wind cables, and could be retrofitted for laying telecommunication data fiber optic cables. According to the Malaysian company, the vessel’s DP2 system, with its cable load capacity of 7,000T and cable-laying plow reaching 5 meters of depth, is able to self-propel while undertaking cable-laying jobs at a speed of 600 metres per hour.

Keyfield’s Group CEO and Executive Director Dato’ Darren Kee said: “We are very excited to share with you regarding the addition of Keyfield Blessing to our fleet. This acquisition aligns with our strategic vision to diversify our fleet of vessels to be able to serve different industries, in line with our midterm objective of increasing non-oil and gas revenue, contributing up to 20% of our Group’s total revenue.”

This acquisition comes as Keyfield Group is looking to expand its business into other maritime areas to gradually reduce its existing dependence on the upstream oil & gas industry.

The company further noted that it sees the investment as a strategic decision driven by current market trends and long-term opportunities, with the acquisition and immediate charter offering immediate revenue opportunities and long-term relevance in the rapidly evolving and expanding market.

KBlessing is the first vessel the company chartered out on a bareboat basis, i.e., where it does not manage the vessel’s operations.