JUNE 21, 2013 — Singapore based Marco Polo Marine Ltd says that its 49.6%-owned Indonesian subsidiary, PT Pelayaran Nasional Buana Bina Raya TBK, has acquired and taken delivery of a newly built 9,000 BHP anchor handling tug supply (AHTS) vessel from a third party shipbuilder. The Group says the acquisition is in line with expansion plans for fleet management of OSVs in Indonesia and was "timely," given the market demand in Indonesia for this type of vessel and that it would take at least 18 months to build one.

The acquisition was funded largely through a vessel loan, with the balance from the proceeds of the IPO of the Indonesian unit, which was concluded in early 2013.

The mid-sized AHTS vessel, named MP Prevail, is currently undergoing reflagging to the Indonesian flag as there is currently very limited supply of such vessels operating in Indonesia waters. The vessel is DP2 equipped and has a bollard pull of about 115 metric tons.

Once reflagging is completed, MP Prevail is expected to be chartered to a leading oil company for deployment in Indonesia waters.

Commenting on the Acquisition, Mr. Sean Lee Yun Feng, CEO of MPM, remarked: "With the offshore oil and gas exploration sector in Indonesia being at its nascent stage of development, demand for chartering services to be provided by AHTS vessels is expected to take off strongly in view of the promising growth of the sector coupled with the limited supply of Indonesian-flagged OSVs as a result of the strict enforcement of the cabotage principle in Indonesia."

He said the acquisition was made "at a reasonable price."