Cosco Corporation (Singapore) Limited has warned of significantly lower earnings for its financial year ended 31 December 2014 due mainly to a one-off charge of around $90m relating to an Octabuoy hull and topside module project.

Cosco (Nantong) Shipyard, a subsidiary of Cosco Corp, has decided to discontinue the Octabuoy hull and topside module project for ATP Oil & Gas (UK) Limited, which has failed to repay Cosco Nantong’s debt claims.

On 11 December 2014, Cosco Nantong received an initial part payment of approximately $5m from ATP.

The Chinese shipyard has been trying to find a new buyer for the Octabuoy but has so far not entered into any agreement for the sale.

“The steep fall in crude oil prices over recent months has had an adverse impact on the global offshore marine industry. This has made it even more difficult to secure a buyer for the Octabuoy as industry players have cut back even further on new orders,” Cosco Corp said.

It added that the difficulty is compounded by the specialised design of the Octabuoy and the substantive investment in the customised equipment that is required to continue the project.