DOF Group ASA announced that it has entered into an agreement to purchase the very high-end AHTS vessels Aurora Saltfjord and Aurora Sandefjord (“the Vessels”). The Vessels are 2011-built anchor handling tug supply (AHTS) vessels featuring a bollard pull of almost 400 metric tonnes, making it among the most powerful AHTS vessels globally. As a step to high-grade the AHTS fleet aligned with the company’s strategy, DOF has agreed to sell the AHTS vessel Skandi Laser (2010 built, 252mt bollard pull) subject to final documentation. The vessel has recently been working on a subsea project in West Africa and in the spot market. The net investment from the transactions is approximately USD 100 million, of which approximately USD 30m is expected to be cash and the rest financed with available debt funding. The divestment of Skandi Laser is expected to result in a gain on book value of approximately USD 12m to be recorded in Q2 2026.

Transaction highlights and rationale:
– High-grading of DOF’s AHTS fleet by acquiring two of the most capable vessels in the market combined with selling one smaller and less capable vessel
– The Vessels are among the most recently built in its segment (AHTS >300mt bollard pull), a segment which sees no newbuilding activity due to prohibitive newbuilding costs
– The purchase price is EV/EBITDA accretive on vessel earnings alone when compared to backward-looking earnings of vessels of similar capability in DOF’s fleet
– The Vessels add significant capacity to execute subsea projects and contribute with meaningful subsea regions earnings on top of vessel earnings
– Very strong market outlook for projects that require high-end AHTS vessels in the years to come
– High-end AHTS capacity has been a constraint for DOF in recent tendering activity
– Limited net cash effect by combining the purchase with a sale together with headroom in debt financing facilities, meaning that the Vessels are expected to quickly contribute with net positive dividend capacity
– The high-grading strategy aims to be net neutral with regards to acquisition costs and divestments proceeds

Mons S. Aase, CEO DOF Group ASA, comments: “Through these transactions, we further enhance DOF’s position as a leading player in the high-end AHTS market. This is a vessel segment which is core to our strategy of being a leading player for mooring projects globally, and Skandi Saltfjord and Skandi Sandefjord will add valuable capacity to deliver integrated offshore services to our clients. The AHTS market has lagged the broader subsea vessel market somewhat, and we now see clear signs that the AHTS market is catching up driven by strong demand across geographies. We already have project backlog for Skandi Skansen in 2027, showing that clients are securing this type of critical capacity earlier than previously, and we further see a strong pipeline of prospects that suit high-end AHTS vessels. Our recent vessel transactions, with the sale of three smaller and older vessels last year together with these transactions, follows our strategy of high-grading the DOF fleet. We expect to continue our fleet optimisation efforts, and will prioritise divestment of vessels that are not core to our strategy going forwards with the target to balance out the net total investment cost.”

Aurora Sandefjord is expected to be delivered in April 2026, and Aurora Saltfjord is expected to be delivered in June/July 2026. Skandi Laser is expected to be delivered to its new owner in May 2026. DOF will continue to have management responsibilities of Skandi Laser.