The four-vessel transaction broadens North Star's client base, extends its operational reach and adds capacity to support customers across the European offshore wind market.
North Star, a leading, fully integrated offshore infrastructure service provider, has completed the acquisition of four new Service Operation Vessels (SOVs) from Edda Wind.
The transaction takes its offshore wind fleet to 14 vessels - among Europe’s largest - strengthening North Star’s leadership in the long-term European SOV market and establishing it as the world’s largest offshore infrastructure service provider by fleet size and charter backlog.
The four SOVs, which are currently deployed on offshore wind contracts, provide immediate access to high-specification capacity and enhance North Star’s flexibility in meeting customer needs across key European markets. North Star's robust financial platform and proven operational scale will support the efficient integration of these vessels into the North Star platform whilst maintaining business continuity for clients.
The acquisition comprises four high-specification vessels: the Goelo Enabler, Boreas Enabler, Nordri Enabler, and Sudri Enabler, together with all associated charter parties. A total of 160 offshore roles will continue to support these vessels, alongside North Star’s existing operational teams.
Partners Group, one of the largest firms in the global private markets industry, acquired North Star in 2022 and spearheaded the company's expansion into the offshore wind industry. The company has also supported North Star’s Emergency Response & Rescue Vessels ("ERRVs") platform, which complements its growing SOV fleet business.
North Star's fleet of 37 ERRVs is the largest of its kind in Europe and provides mission-critical services to the offshore energy industry under a highly regulated framework.
North Star is expected to generate c. GBP 100 million of run rate EBITDA, up more than three-fold in the last four years. The majority of this increase is derived from the growing SOV fleet business.
CEO Gitte Gard Talmo said: “Finalising this four-vessel transaction marks another step forward for North Star in offshore wind. Bringing these SOVs into our fleet broadens our customer offering, strengthens our platform and reinforces our presence in key European markets. It also underlines our leadership in the region’s SOV sector and provides a strong foundation for the next phase of expansion across the business.
“I am proud of our team, who have worked tirelessly to complete the necessary due diligence and ship inspections, and I am very pleased to welcome many new colleagues to North Star as part of this exciting expansion.”
Fraser Dobbie, North Star Chief Financial Officer, added: "The successful execution of this deal underscores the continued confidence of our investors in our commercial capabilities and the maturity of our systems and organisation to support increasing scale. The acquisition complements our ongoing investment in newbuild vessels and strengthens our earnings profile.”
North Star board member Kevin Gilhawley, and Member of Management for Infrastructure Europe at Partners Group, said: "We are very proud of the growth North Star has delivered since our investment, with this latest acquisition adding meaningful scale to the Company's fast-growing SOV fleet. The long-term SOV market is supported by compelling structural growth drivers, including a growing offshore wind asset base, the location of assets further from shore, rising uptime requirements, and rationalizing supply chain. North Star is well positioned to capture future market growth."
North Star is headquartered in Aberdeen and has UK bases in Lowestoft and Newcastle and in Hamburg, Germany. The company has decades-long industry track record as a fully integrated offshore infrastructure services company.
Established 140 years ago to support the fisheries sector, and with over 50 years of providing safety-critical, around-the-clock support at North Sea installations, this experience enables the company to rapidly scale and integrate additional assets and crews efficiently, reliably and safely. Its fleet of SOVs supports operations and maintenance activities, contributing to Europe’s energy security and its transition to renewables.
Issued on behalf of North Star by BIG Partnership.
Suggested image caption:
- The deal to acquire four Edda Wind ships has established North Star as the market leading offshore infrastructure service provider by fleet size and charter backlog globally.
About North Star:
North Star is the UK’s market-leading fully integrated offshore infrastructure service provider, delivering mission-critical offshore infrastructure support services across the offshore wind and oil and gas sectors. Headquartered in Aberdeen with operational bases in Lowestoft, Newcastle and Hamburg, the company employs around 1,500 offshore and onshore personnel.
Established over 140 years ago to support the fisheries industry, North Star has since built five decades of proven expertise in the energy sector. Today, it operates a fleet of 51 vessels, including 14 Service Operations Vessels (SOVs) - four under construction - and 37 Emergency Response and Rescue Vessels (ERRVs) that provide continuous support to approximately 50 North Sea installation around the clock, 365 days a year.
Since 2021, North Star has invested over £850 million pounds in SOVs to meet the increasing demands of Europe’s offshore wind market.
As the UK’s largest employer of offshore cadets, North Star is committed to the future of maritime, investing around £1.5 million annually since 1996 to train the next generation of deck and engineering professionals.
By combining safety, service, and quality, North Star delivers reliable, high-performance support in some of the world’s most challenging offshore environments.
About Partners Group:
Partners Group is one of the largest firms in the global private markets industry, with around 2’000 professionals and over USD 185 billion in assets under management globally. The firm has investment programs and custom mandates spanning private equity, private credit, infrastructure, real estate, royalties, and special opportunities. With its heritage in Switzerland and primary presence in the Americas in Colorado, Partners Group is built differently from the rest of the industry. The firm leverages its differentiated culture and its operationally oriented approach to identify attractive investment themes and to transform businesses and assets into market leaders. For more information, please visit www.partnersgroup.com or follow us on LinkedIn.