DOF Group buys two very strong AHTS vessels

The Norwegian-headquartered offshore and subsea vessel provider DOF Group ASA (DOF) has entered into an agreement to purchase the very high-end AHTS vessels Aurora Saltfjord and Aurora Sandefjord.

The vessels are 2011-built anchor handling tug supply (AHTS) vessels, featuring a bollard pull of almost 400 metric tonnes.

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 Skandi Laser has recently been working on a subsea project in West Africa and in the spot market.

The net investment from the transactions is approximately $100m, of which approximately $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 $12m to be recorded in the second quarter of 2026.

The Aurora Sandefjord is expected to be delivered in April 2026, and the Aurora Saltfjord is expected to be delivered in June/July 2026.

The Skandi Laser is expected to be delivered to its new owner in May 2026, with DOF mentioning it will continue to have management responsibilities of Skandi Laser.

Mons S. Aase, chief executive of DOF Group ASA, commented: “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.”