Cal Dive Sells Off its GofM Surface Diving Fleet

Cal Dive International says it has sold its U.S. Gulf of Mexico shallow water surface diving fleet to a privately held company for cash of US$18.5-million and a 19.9% minority interest in the entity acquiring the assets.

Cal Dive explains that the assets sold are comprised of eight surface diving vessels and miscellaneous inventory and equipment and it anticipates recording a gain during the second quarter as a result of the transaction. Net proceeds from the sale were used to repay a portion of the Cal Dive’s revolving credit facility.

The Company also entered into a multi-year alliance agreement with the buyer under which the buyer will have the exclusive right to provide any surface diving services required by Cal Dive in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico to support pipelay, decommissioning, platform installation and other integrated services. This transaction is part of the Company’s strategic plan to divest non-core assets, strengthen the balance sheet and pursue opportunities that enhance shareholder value.

Quinn Hébert, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cal Dive, stated, “This transaction is part of our ongoing efforts to concentrate our financial and other resources on key strategic initiatives. These include our U.S. Gulf of Mexico saturation diving, pipelay and decommissioning and salvage operations and our construction and diving services in key international markets such as Mexico, Australia, Southeast Asia and the North Sea.”

About the Company
Cal Dive International, Inc., headquartered in Houston, Texas, is a marine contractor that provides manned diving, pipelay and pipe burial, platform installation and salvage, and light well intervention services to the offshore oil and natural gas industry on the Gulf of Mexico OCS, Northeastern U.S., Latin America, Southeast Asia, China, Australia, West Africa, the Middle East, and Europe, with a diversified fleet of dive support vessels and construction barges.