Ocean Wilsons Holdings Limited
Our principal operating subsidiary, Wilson Sons Limited announced to the Brazilian and Luxembourg Stock Exchanges the following announcement.
Approval and changes to Priority Status of FMM Funding
Wilson Sons Limited ("Company") announces that, on November 24th, 2011, the Company's request for priority status related to the construction of 12 azimuth tugboats, in the order of USD 150 million, has been approved by the Council of Directors for the Merchant Marine Fund ("FMM").
Wilson, Sons has one of the biggest tugboat fleets in South America, with presence in all the major Brazilian ports. The funding approval by the FMM is part of the Company's strategy to increase and renew its fleet in order to meet the demand driven by growth in the oil and gas industry and international trade flow, ensuring competitiveness in the expansion of our towage operations.
The Company also announces that the FMM accepted changes to the original Wilson Sons Ultratug Offshore ("WSUT") project related to the construction of 13 Offshore Support Vessels (as announced on September 28th, 2010), which now amount to 16 Platform Supply Vessels. The project, in the order of USD 670 million, has 3-year repayment grace period, 18-year financing terms, and has been approved by BNDES, as agent for the FMM.
The WSUT strategy is to build an appropriate mix of vessels to attend the demand from national and international oil companies operating in Brazil. According to the Petrobras strategic plan, they alone require 280 new chartered OSV's by 2020 to fulfill their exploration and production of pre-salt and post-salt reserves.
In addition to the aforementioned funding for the fleet expansion in both Offshore and Towage businesses, the Company reiterates that it has under the FMM portfolio projects related to the development of the new Guarujá II and Rio Grande shipyards, both with financing terms signed by the BNDES, as agent for the FMM.
Company Contact
Keith Middleton 1 441 295 1309
Seymour Pierce Limited 020 7107 8000
Guy Peters - Corporate Finance
David Banks - Corporate Broking
