Two Subsea 7 board members have resigned so that the company can use its vessels for energy development related projects in US waters. The move, which saw Robert Long and Allen Stevens, both US citizens, step down, was to enable Subsea 7 to meet requirements applicable to non-US companies operating vessels in US waters.
Under these requirements, a non-US company’s board of directors cannot be itself controlled by a majority of US citizens. Therefore, Subsea 7, which has a minimum board quorum of four, had to reduce the number of US directors from three to one.
Long and Stevens joined Subsea 7's board in January 2011 and, following their resignations, will remain members of the company’s compensation committee.
Stevens will also remain a member of the company’s corporate governance and nominations committee and Long will continue as a member of the company’s audit committee.