AN Aberdeen-based shipbuilder has won £140 million backing to start a new fleet of vessels to support the offshore wind sector.
The package includes a £50m commitment from the Scottish National Investment Bank, as well as from IFM Investors, Edmond de Rothschild’s BRIDGE, and RBC Capital Markets, and comes as the firm targets expansion opportunities in the UK and Europe.
SNIB has provided the backing as part of its remit to help Scotland in its drive to net zero, and supports the continued expansion of offshore wind projects in the North Sea by addressing recognised demand for service operations vessels (SOVs) and support vessels.
North Star, which is owned by Switzerland-headquartered Partners Group and also has bases in Lowestoft and Newcastle, has been operating in the North Sea for 135 years. Its 1,300-strong workforce currently manages and operates 42 offshore support vessels providing year-round critical safety services to over 50 UK Continental Shelf installations.
The firm entered the offshore wind market last year after winning all four long-term charter awards for the highly competitive Dogger Bank Wind Farm.
These four vessels will be delivered from 2023, financed by a £127m project facility secured from Allianz Global Investors last year.
The vessels provide accommodation for wind technicians and access to equipment. North Star’s state-of-the-art ships utilise hybrid power, dynamic positioning, artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies, it said.
Fraser Dobbie, North Star chief strategy officer, said: “Raising this level of corporate funding from the bank and other investors, as well as the ongoing backing of Partners Group, provides us with the means to continue to add to our growing vessel fleet and supports our ambition to be a leading player in the European SOV market.
"The £140m secured today secures the capital required for us to continue our newbuilding programme in the year ahead, whilst providing us with the flexibility to continue to expand these facilities to meet our strategy of 40 new SOVs by 2040.”
Jimmy Williamson, of SNIB, said it is "catalysing support for Scotland’s offshore wind supply chain".
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