Export Finance Norway has agreed to provide guarantees of up to USD 183 million to support OMS Group’s long-term financing for two new fibre-optic cable-laying vessels ordered from Norwegian shipbuilder Ulstein, sources indicated on 12 November 2026.
The guarantees will underwrite part of the funding package for the pair of cable-layers, which form half of a four-vessel newbuilding programme for OMS Group. The company says the new ships will expand its capacity to install and maintain subsea fibre-optic cables that carry international data traffic.
The contract for the two vessels is with Ulstein, described in the report as a Norwegian shipbuilder. The deal represents the next phase in a programme that now has financing secured for all four newbuilds.
State-backed backing and finance scale
Export Finance Norway, known as Eksfin, is providing guarantees rather than direct lending, enabling OMS Group to obtain long-term finance on more favourable terms from commercial lenders. The maximum exposure reported is USD 183 million, covering a portion of the required finance for the two vessels.
The guarantees are intended to reduce credit risk for lenders and thereby support the shipowner’s access to funding. With Eksfin’s support in place, OMS Group has fulfilled a key financing milestone for its four-vessel programme.
Vessel role and fleet expansion
OMS Group’s two new cable-laying vessels are specified to install and maintain subsea fibre-optic cables, infrastructure that carries international data traffic and underpins global communications. The newbuilds will increase the operator’s operational capacity in the subsea cable market.
Securing finance for all four ships brings the programme to a commercially executable stage, the report noted, signalling a step-change in OMS Group’s planned fleet expansion for cable installation and maintenance work.
The involvement of a Norwegian yard follows a pattern of specialist shipbuilders supplying complex cable-laying tonnage, and the Ulstein name is a recognised presence in that segment. The arrangement with Eksfin will permit OMS Group to move ahead with construction and subsequent deployment of the vessels.
reports provided the details of the guarantees and the parties involved in its 12 November 2026 item. The report frames the package as a coordinated industry and public finance effort to support delivery of assets intended for a segment of the maritime services market that is critical to international data networks.
The guaranteed funding applies only to the portion of the long-term financing secured for the two ships and does not imply full public ownership or direct state control of the vessels. OMS Group remains the commercial owner and operator responsible for contract performance and deployment of the newbuilds.
The completed financing for the full four-vessel programme means OMS Group can proceed with scheduled construction and operational planning. That progress is likely to influence the company’s ability to bid for work installing and maintaining subsea fibre-optic systems, though the report does not set out specific contracts or customers associated with the new ships.
In summary, the Eksfin guarantees of up to USD 183 million mark a decisive step in funding OMS Group’s expansion of cable-laying capability, with Ulstein confirmed as the builder of the two recently backed vessels and finance now secured for the wider four-vessel newbuilding programme.