Keppel Readies Sale of Rotterdam Yard to Damen

Keppel Offshore & Marine has entered into a term sheet agreement with Damen Shipyards Group for the sale of its shipyard, Keppel Verolme in Rotterdam.

The proposed sale comes after a strategic review by Keppel O&M and is part of the company's efforts to optimize its operations and rationalize its global network of yards. 

Keppel O&M said in a statement that it continues to see opportunities in the offshore oil and gas market in Europe and the North Sea, and will service these markets through its network of yards in Singapore and globally.

Last year, Keppel O&M cut its direct workforce by about 35 percent (10,600 people). Keppel Verolme has about 250 employees, and Damen intends to continue activities in the shipyard with the current employees of the yard.

With the acquisition of the Verolme shipyard, Damen takes the next step in strengthening its repair and conversion activities within the regional ship repair and conversion market. Since 1957, the Verolme yard has been active in the Botlek area of the Port of Rotterdam with three graving docks and a quay capacity of over 1,800 meters (5,900 feet). 

With the largest dock measuring 90 x 405 meters (295 x 1,330 feet) Damen will gain capacity to cater for the largest maritime units. Currently, Damen’s biggest dock in the Netherlands is located at Damen Shiprepair Rotterdam and measures 46 x 307 meters (150 x 1,000 feet). 

With the Verolme yard, Damen will have four large repair yards within close proximity of the Port of Rotterdam. The two yards in Rotterdam, along with Damen’s yards in Vlissingen and Amsterdam, will closely cooperate to maximize the use of each other’s expertise, further developing synergy advantages and jointly marketing their capacity.

A notification of the proposed transaction was filed with the Dutch Authority for Consumers & Markets on April 10. The deal is expected to be closed by the end of second quarter 2017.