Ocean Energy Ventures (OEV), a subsidiary of the MDL Energy group of companies, together with Quippo Oil and Gas, has acquired the newly built production support vessel previously destined for Nautilus Minerals and its Solwara 1 copper-gold marine mining project off the coast of Papua New Guinea.

The contract for the hull MW301-1 was originally signed in Shanghai, China, on July 26 and became effective on September 3.

The vessel, now re-dubbed ‘Amaya Explorer’, was originally ordered by Marine Assets Corp (MAC) against a five-year contract with Nautilus Minerals.

OEV said: “OEV’s dialogue for the charter of the vessel to Nautilus Minerals was terminated on October 5, 2018, and Nautilus have been instructed to remove all of their equipment off the vessel. OEV is now re-purposing the vessel.”

Kulpreet Sahni, CEO of MDL Energy, said: “We are delighted to have concluded the contract for the purchase of Fujian Mawei hull MW301-1. The vessel hull fits well with our future plans and we are excited about this first step on a new journey for us.”

MDL Energy calls itself an offshore shipping investment organisation with added capability to design, build and deliver vessels for offshore operators using in-house resources. It offers solutions for offshore oil and gas operations, tailored to the specific needs and requirements of its clients.

Nautilus said on December 2 it was currently negotiating the terms of an agreement with arm’s length third parties to fund the acquisition of the PSV Nautilus previously arranged to be procured through MAC and the integration costs of installing the mining equipment on the PSV.