IHC Merwede B.V., the Dutch builder of dredgers and oil-rig support vessels, is in talks to acquire a Southeast Asian shipyard because of lower wages and rising energy exploration, Bloomberg reports.“We have to be more cost effective,” President Govert Hamers told reporters yesterday in Singapore. The company, which aims to sign a deal by the end of June, has considered targets in countries including Singapore and Vietnam, he said.
The closely held shipbuilder intends to add its first Asian yard for offshore vessels as higher fuel prices spur drilling in waters off China, Malaysia, Vietnam and Australia. STX OSV Holdings Ltd. and Keppel Corp. are also expanding to meet demand for vessels used to lay pipes and supply oil rigs following a more-than 30 percent jump in the price of crude over the past two years.
In Brazil, IHC Merwede intends to seek sales by providing technology and equipment to an existing shipyard rather than opening its own facility, Hamers said, without naming the partner. Petroleo Brasileiro SA, Brazil’s state-controlled oil company, plans to have 37 platforms operating off the country’s coast by 2015.
“In Brazil, we think it’s safer to be an equipment supplier,” Hamers said. “We always find the best solution that works well in that particular country.”
IHC Merwede, the world’s biggest builder of dredgers, has five yards in Europe that make offshore and dredging vessels as well as related equipment. The Sliedrecht, Holland-based company also constructs dredgers at venture yards in India, Bangladesh and China.
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