Solstad Offshore gets rid of seven old vessels

Norwegian offshore vessel owner Solstad Offshore has sold seven vessels for recycling as they are considered irrelevant for present and future markets.

The vessels to be recycled are defined by Solstad as non-strategic, they are of older age, and considered to be irrelevant for present and future markets, the company explained on Tuesday.

The vessels are Sea Tiger, Normand Atlantic, Normand Borg, Normand Neptun, Sea Pollock, Far Strider, and Far Sovereign. They were built in 1998, 1997, 2000, 1996, 2008, 1999, and 1999, respectively.

“We are pleased that we finally can start green recycling of a major number of our oldest vessels. These have all have been in lay-up over a considerable time. This will allow us to increase focus on upgrades and emission reductions from our core fleet of modern offshore vessels going forward,” Tor Inge Dale, Chief Sustainability Officer, said.

The vessels will be delivered to the shipyard in the near future and their sale will result in an immaterial accounting effect for 4Q 2021. They will be recycled at the Green Yard Feda and Green Yard Kleven shipyards in Norway.

Hans Jørgen Fedog, CEO, Green Yard Group, said: “The agreement has a historical scope when it comes to the environmentally friendly recycling of ships in Norway, and it proves that our circular economy business model is really bearing fruit. We are pleased that the activities at our two yards, Green Yard Feda and Green Yard Kleven, can be further developed for a greener future while securing local jobs.”

According to Solstad, the shipyards are specialized in ship recycling and they follow the strictest national and international agreements and regulations in accordance with EU Ship Recycling Regulations (EU SRR) and Hong Kong-convention (HKC).

As part of its strategy, Solstad also in late August sold two vessels, one to a new owner and another one for recycling.