Polarcus Limited has signed a five year Bareboat Charter Party Agreement (BBCP) with OAO Sovcomflot (SCF) of Russia, the Company said Thursday.
Under the terms of the BBCP Sovcomflot will charter POLARCUS SELMA, inclusive of an 8 streamer seismic equipment package, from Polarcus at a rate of USD 69,500 per day. The BBCP, viewed by both parties as the first step towards a larger strategic business alliance to serve the growing Russian seismic market, will commence in August 2011. The BBCP terms include a purchase option of the vessel commencing after the third anniversary of the BBCP.
In conjunction with the BBCP, Polarcus has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with SCF for the provision of certain specialist onboard crew and shore-based services and systems support. The provision of the services, to be charged in addition to the BBCP, is subject to a final agreement between the parties expected to be signed in the latter part of August 2011.
Peter Zickerman, EVP Polarcus, commented: "This important agreement will afford Polarcus and Sovcomflot unparalleled access to the Russian market and most significantly to possibly the world’s last and largest oil frontier, the Arctic. There is very good synergy between our companies, with our own strategic focus on the Arctic frontier and investment into Arctic-ready technologies, and Sovcomflot’s leadership in key Russian oil and gas development projects in harsh ice environments. We believe the BBCP and the LOI for support services will be just the beginning of a long and successful relationship with Russia’s largest shipping company as they aspire to broaden their focus from energy transportation to energy supply."
POLARCUS SELMA is a sister ship to POLARCUS SAMUR, an ultra-modern and Arctic-ready 3D seismic vessel of the ULSTEIN SX133 X-BOW design capable of towing both conventional and wide tow spreads. The vessel has an overall length of 84.2m and a beam of 17m. POLARCUS SELMA has a maximum speed of 17 knots and will be capable of deploying up to 8 streamers each of 6,000m length, or 6 streamers each of 8,000m length, with lateral streamer separations of between 25 and 200 meters.
Polarcus (OAX: PLCS) is a pure play marine geophysical company with a pioneering environmental agenda, specializing in high-end towed streamer data acquisition from Pole to Pole. Polarcus operates a fleet of high performance 3D seismic vessels incorporating an innovative design and advanced maritime technologies for improved safety and efficiency. Polarcus offers contract seismic surveys and multi-client projects worldwide and employs over 500 professionals. The Company’s principal office is in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. For more information, visit www.polarcus.com
Sovcomflot Group, the biggest shipping company in Russia, specializing in global energy transportation services for crude oil, petroleum products, hydrocarbons and other energy sources. Incorporated in 1988 as PLC, it is now one of the leading tanker operators in the world with the fleet consisting of 156 ships and the total deadweight of nearly 12 million tonnes (as of March 31, 2011). SCF sees itself as a flagship of the Russian energy shipping and upstream offshore industry, global industry leader as regards quality of service, safety and environmental standards. Company is headquartered in St.Petersburg (Russia) with offices in Moscow, Novorossiysk, Murmansk, Vladivostok, London, Limassol, Madrid, Singapore.
Under the terms of the BBCP Sovcomflot will charter POLARCUS SELMA, inclusive of an 8 streamer seismic equipment package, from Polarcus at a rate of USD 69,500 per day. The BBCP, viewed by both parties as the first step towards a larger strategic business alliance to serve the growing Russian seismic market, will commence in August 2011. The BBCP terms include a purchase option of the vessel commencing after the third anniversary of the BBCP.
In conjunction with the BBCP, Polarcus has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with SCF for the provision of certain specialist onboard crew and shore-based services and systems support. The provision of the services, to be charged in addition to the BBCP, is subject to a final agreement between the parties expected to be signed in the latter part of August 2011.
Peter Zickerman, EVP Polarcus, commented: "This important agreement will afford Polarcus and Sovcomflot unparalleled access to the Russian market and most significantly to possibly the world’s last and largest oil frontier, the Arctic. There is very good synergy between our companies, with our own strategic focus on the Arctic frontier and investment into Arctic-ready technologies, and Sovcomflot’s leadership in key Russian oil and gas development projects in harsh ice environments. We believe the BBCP and the LOI for support services will be just the beginning of a long and successful relationship with Russia’s largest shipping company as they aspire to broaden their focus from energy transportation to energy supply."
POLARCUS SELMA is a sister ship to POLARCUS SAMUR, an ultra-modern and Arctic-ready 3D seismic vessel of the ULSTEIN SX133 X-BOW design capable of towing both conventional and wide tow spreads. The vessel has an overall length of 84.2m and a beam of 17m. POLARCUS SELMA has a maximum speed of 17 knots and will be capable of deploying up to 8 streamers each of 6,000m length, or 6 streamers each of 8,000m length, with lateral streamer separations of between 25 and 200 meters.
Polarcus (OAX: PLCS) is a pure play marine geophysical company with a pioneering environmental agenda, specializing in high-end towed streamer data acquisition from Pole to Pole. Polarcus operates a fleet of high performance 3D seismic vessels incorporating an innovative design and advanced maritime technologies for improved safety and efficiency. Polarcus offers contract seismic surveys and multi-client projects worldwide and employs over 500 professionals. The Company’s principal office is in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. For more information, visit www.polarcus.com
Sovcomflot Group, the biggest shipping company in Russia, specializing in global energy transportation services for crude oil, petroleum products, hydrocarbons and other energy sources. Incorporated in 1988 as PLC, it is now one of the leading tanker operators in the world with the fleet consisting of 156 ships and the total deadweight of nearly 12 million tonnes (as of March 31, 2011). SCF sees itself as a flagship of the Russian energy shipping and upstream offshore industry, global industry leader as regards quality of service, safety and environmental standards. Company is headquartered in St.Petersburg (Russia) with offices in Moscow, Novorossiysk, Murmansk, Vladivostok, London, Limassol, Madrid, Singapore.