Directors at Solstad Offshore, Farstad Shipping and Deep Sea Supply have approved plans to merge the three companies to combat the offshore slump.

The trio said the deal was signed by their respective boards on Friday.

The merger was forged through tycoons John Fredriksen and Kjell Inge Rokke coming together in February to refinance Farstad.

Rokke's Aker Capital, which is a major shareholder in the combined Solstad/Rem Offshore, will hold 58,496,302 shares representing 20.1%