Siem Offshore moves to Norway

Norwegian shipowner Kristian Siem is in the process of transferring the ownership of his Siem Offshore fleet to Norway and will concentrate the day-to-day operation of the fleet in Kristiansand.

25 vessels will now be transferred to Norway into the Norwegian shipping taxation scheme. The fleet represents a tonnage of above 100,000 tons. The company has a modern fleet of platform supply vessels, large anchor handling tug supply vessels, and other support vessels.

“We consider the Norwegian rules and conditions to be competitive, and have decided to move the ownership of the vessels to Norway. We trust that both the operation and ownership in Norway will give the company long term predictability and competitiveness,” says Kristian Siem, Chairman.

“We feel a strong connection to the Norwegian maritime environment, and wish to strengthen the connection to Norway and Kristiansand,” adds Siem.

Siem Offshore originates from Det Soendenfjeldske Norske Dampskibsselskap founded in 1854 as the oldest shipping company listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange.

The company says it will maintain its strong connection with the Norwegian maritime cluster and the crewing of the company’s vessels will be based upon a core of Norwegian maritime personnel.

Siem Offshore has invested heavily in Norway by a newbuilding program for 25 vessels at Norwegian yards at a cost of NOK 11 billion, whereof 14 vessels have been delivered. The building program is one of the largest in Norway ever and represents 12,000 man-years of employment for the Norwegian industry. In addition, the new vessels have created several hundred positions for Norwegian maritime personnel on board the company’s vessels.

Source: Siemoffshore.com