Barakah Offshore looking for new pipelay barge buyer as sale falls through

Malaysian offshore service provider Barakah Offshore Petroleum is searching for a new buyer for its pipelay and accommodation barge Kota Laksamana 101 after a preliminary deal with PT Wintermar Rajawali expired at the end of February.

Barakah has been exploring options to sell the barge since January last year. It was looking to earn at least $11.4m for the unit delivered in 2012.

However, that was not the amount it agreed to sell the unit for. It signed a memorandum of understanding with PT Wintermar Rajawali in late October 2024 which put a price tag of $9.7m on the vessel.

Barakah was looking to use the money from the barge sale to partially repay the $11.06m (about RM49.4 million) it owed the Export-Import Bank of Malaysia (Exim Bank).

The company said in a Bursa Malaysia filing that the MOA with PT Wintermar Rajawali “has become null with immediate effect” and that it is already in active talks with several other potential buyers to finalise the disposal of the barge.

The barge has been idle since September 2019. Maintenance and depreciation of the barge add around $470,000 and $790,000 in costs respectively.

It also stated that it is simultaneously negotiating revised payment terms with Exim Bank for its outstanding debt.

Barakah is currently under Practice Note 17 due to negative equity and retained losses. The note issued by Bursa Malaysia relates to companies that are in financial distress.