Following the financial crash of Harkand Group, that saw four charter deals terminated and over 170 jobs lost, it remains to be seen what the future holds for the newbuild DP3 dive support vessel the Harkand Haldane, which was scheduled for delivery in Q2 2016.

Namely, the vessel is in an advanced stage of construction at Vard, originally contracted in December 2013 for delivery from Vard Søviknes.

Vard said that if Harkand unlawfully terminates the shipbuilding contract it will contractually be entitled to retain the advance payments already received and to resell the vessel.

“The payments already received, equivalent to 20% of the original contract price, could facilitate a resale of the vessel,” the company said in a press statement.

According to Vard, the value of the contract, which comprised an option to place an order for a second similar vessel, exceeded NOK 1 billion.

Subsea World News Staff