Helix News

Oslo-listed offshore vessel owner Siem Offshore has secured long-term contracts with Helix Energy Solutions for two of its Siem Helix well intervention vessels.The contracts, valued at a total of $682 million, follow the letter of intent the companies announced in November 2023.The new contracts for Siem Helix 1 and Siem Helix 2, effective from January 1, 2025, and January 1, 2026, respectively, replace existing agreements and ensure firm utilization for these key vessels until at least 2030.With a duration of 6 years for each vessel…

The Norwegian offshore vessel Siem Offshore said Monday it had secured a contract extension for the AHTS Siem Topaz with a local client in Taiwan. The contract will start in direct continuation of the current contract, for a firm period reaching into Q4 2024. The vessel will continue to be employed within the offshore wind industry.Offshore Engineer reported back in March that Siem Offshore had secured a medium-term contract for the AHTS Siem Topaz for client Helix Robotics Solutions Inc.

U.S.-based offshore service firm Helix Energy Solutions has secured a 39-well decommissioning contract in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico shelf with an unnamed client. The project, awarded to Helix's Louisiana-based subsidiary Helix Alliance, is expected to start in mid-2023.The scope of work includes the plug and abandonment of 39 wells, 15 pipelines, and seven structures.

Norwegian offshore vessel owner Siem Offshore has secured a medium-term contract for the AHTS Siem Topaz for client Helix Robotics Solutions Inc. in Taiwan. The contract will start during March 2023. The contract has a firm period reaching into the fourth quarter of 2023. Siem Offshore said the vessel would be employed for a project within the offshore wind industry. Financial details were no disclosed.According to AIS, Siem Topaz was in Dampier, Australia, Thursday morning, with its next destination set for Singapore. Helix Inks Long-term Charter for Glomar Wave

An oil rig supervisor who earned more than $200,000 a year working for Houston-based Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc is entitled to overtime pay, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday in a decision with costly implications for the oil and gas industry.The court in a 6-3 decision authored by liberal Justice Elena Kagan decided that because the rig supervisor, Michael Hewitt, was paid a daily rate of $963 and not a salary, an overtime pay exemption in federal wage law for highly paid workers did not apply to him.The justices affirmed a 2021 ruling by the New Orleans-based 5th U.S.

Damen Shipyards Group and Compagnie Maritime Monégasque (CMM) announced a two-year offshore support contract for Damen Fast Crew Supplier (FCS) 7011 Aqua Helix. The vessel will transport personnel to and from offshore platforms in support of an oil and gas decommissioning project. The 2022-built Aqua Helix arrived in Brazil on January 26 and is anticipated to commence work in the coming weeks.“During the design phase of the FCS 7011, we considered the Brazilian market a strong fit for this vessel…

Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc., announced its robotics division has entered into a three-year charter agreement with two years of options for the DP2 offshore support vessel Glomar Wave for work on a range of opportunities in both the offshore renewables and oil and gas sectors.Helix Robotics Solutions' Glomar Wave, a DP2 66.4-meter multi-role vessel, is expected to operate across energy sectors supporting Helix clients in a variety of roles.The purpose-built vessel, equipped with a 25Te crane…

Norwegian offshore vessel owner Volstad Maritime has contracted Norwegian Electric Systems AS (NES) to deliver the battery pack and associated control system for battery charging to the Grand Canyon III offshore construction vessel. “The demand for retrofitting battery power on board offshore vessels continues to grow as many shipowners, such as Volstad Maritime, are dedicated to reducing their carbon footprint. Lower operating expenditure through reduced fuel consumption is an additional…

Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. announced on Monday that it entered into a two-year extension of its well intervention charter and services contracts with Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras) for the Siem Helix 2 well intervention vessel offshore Brazil. The negotiated extension is scheduled to conclude in December 2024 and directly follows Helix’s current contracts with Petrobras.The Siem Helix 2 is a purpose-built, advanced well intervention vessel capable of performing a wide range of subsea services including production enhancement, well decommissioning, subsea installation, offshore crane and remotely operated vehicle (ROV) operations, offshore construction and emergency response.

Helix Robotics Solutions, the U.S. robotics division of Helix Energy Solutions Group, has extended the charter for Bordelon Marine's DP2 Jones Act-compliant Ultra-Light Intervention Vessel (ULIV) M/V Shelia Bordelon through June 2024.Helix currently primarily operates the vessel to support offshore renewables and inspection, repair, and maintenance (IRM) activities for clients operating in U.S. waters. Recently, Helix contracted the Shelia Bordelon to support the growing wind farm industry offshore the U.S.

Helix Robotics Solutions Limited, the U.K. Robotics division of Helix Energy Solutions Group, and the Norwegian shipowner Volstad Maritime have agreed on five-year charter extensions for both the Grand Canyon II and Grand Canyon III construction support vessels to continue working on projects across multiple energy sectors.The two vessels have been under long-term charter with Helix since 2015 and 2016, respectively. The extended charter for the Grand Canyon II runs from January 2023 through the end of 2027, while the extended charter for the Grand Canyon III runs from May 2023 through May 2028, with a further option to extend. Financial details were not disclosed.

U.S. based offshore well services company Helix Energy Solutions Group has finalized the previously announced acquisition of the Alliance group of companies, bolstering its decommissioning footprint in the Gulf of Mexico.Alliance is a Louisiana-based privately held company that provides services supporting the upstream and midstream ‎industries in the Gulf of Mexico shelf, including offshore oil field decommissioning and ‎reclamation, project management, engineered solutions, intervention…

Energy logistics provider Peterson has won a logistics contract with OceanXpress, a recently formed joint venture between Dutch companies Damen and Ampelmann.Damen Shipyards and offshore gangway specialist Ampelmann launched the joint venture last month to provide offshore crew change solutions in the North Sea area.Now, Peterson will deliver ship agency services for OceanXpress' Aqua Helix vessel, which will use the Port of Den Helder as its main port of operation.Mark Hol, Business Unit Manager at Peterson, said: “We’re delighted to  welcome the Aqua Helix to the Port of Den Helder and be no

U.S.-based offshore oil and gas services firm  Helix Energy Solutions Group is set to buy equity interests of Louisiana-baed Alliance group of companies for $120 million cash at closing, plus the potential for post-closing earnout consideration.Alliance is a Louisiana-based privately held company that provides services supporting the upstream and midstream ‎industries in the Gulf of Mexico shelf, including offshore oil field decommissioning and ‎reclamation, project management…

Dutch shipbuilder Damen Shipyards and offshore gangway specialist Ampelmann have launched the joint venture OceanXpress to provide offshore crew change solutions in the North Sea area. "This collaboration will see the introduction of a new service to the offshore access market that neatly combines the engineering feats of Damen’s Fast Crew Supplier (FCS) 7011 Aqua Helix with the S-type motion compensated gangway system from Ampelmann," the companies said Friday.The vessel and…

Helix Energy Solutions Group, a U.S. offshore oil, and gas well services company, has signed a multi-year deal with Shell to provide Well Intervention services in the Gulf of Mexico.Under the contract Helix will provide either the Q4000 or Q5000 riser-based semi-submersible well intervention vessel, a 10k or 15k Intervention Riser System (IRS), remotely operated vehicles, project management, and engineering services to cover operations from fully integrated well intervention to fully integrated plug and abandonment well services…

U.S. based offshore vessel owner Bordelon Marine said it has signed a one-year firm charter agreement with Helix Robotics Solutions, the U.S. robotics division of Helix Energy Solutions Group, for the Shelia Bordelon, a 260-foot DP2 Jones-Act-compliant ultra-light intervention vessel.The charter commenced in late February 2022, and the vessel is mobilized with two Triton 200-horsepower remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROV) with high spec survey capabilities operated by Helix.While Helix expects the Shelia Bordelon to primarily support inspection…

Dutch shipbuilder Damen is putting finishing touches on its "ground-breaking" Fast Crew Supplier (FCS) 7011 vessel class – the Aqua Helix - with Ampelmann gangway recently installed and integrated with the ship’s systems, and the vessel undergoing the final stages of sea trials.Custom designed for the FCS 7011, the S-type motion-compensated gangway is a critical element in this next-generation fast crew supplier, Damen said.Engineered for a minimum weight and fully electrical operation…

Helix Energy Solutions Group has entered into a new agreement for offshore oil spill response resources with HWCG, a consortium of deepwater oil and gas companies in the Gulf of Mexico who have come together with the shared goal of quickly responding to offshore oil spills.Under the agreement, HWCG’s members are given the opportunity to identify the Helix Fast Response System as a response resource in permit applications to U.S. federal and state agencies, and to deploy the Helix Fast Response System to respond to a well control incident in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

U.S.-based Helix Energy Solutions Group has secured an extension of its well intervention charter and services contracts with Brazil's Petrobras for the Siem Helix 2 well intervention vessel."The initial four-year contract for the Siem Helix 2 has been extended by one year at a reduced rate reflective of the current market. The Siem Helix 2 is now set to remain under contract with Petrobras until mid-December 2022 performing riser-based well intervention activities," Helix Energy Solutions said. The company did not provide details on the value of the contract.The Siem Helix 2 is a 2016-built well intervention vessel capable of performing a wide range of subsea services including production enhancement…

A group of four saturation divers from the U.K. recently rowed across the Atlantic Ocean to tackle a challenge of lifetime while raising money for a local cancer charity.Chris Ayres, Lewis Locke, James Piper and Andy Taw—all employed by Helix Energy Solutions Group as deep sea saturation divers—took part in ‘The 2021 Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge’, which saw the four men row 3,000 miles from La Gomera, the Canary Islands, to Antigua in The Caribbean to raise money for Wessex Cancer Trust.

A U.S. appeals court on Thursday said workers who use cranes attached to boats to load equipment onto offshore oil rigs are not "seamen" exempt from overtime pay under federal wage law, reviving a collective action against liftboat operator All Coast LLC.The full 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals voted 15-2 to deny en banc review to All Coast and reinstated a three-judge panel's unanimous February ruling that said the workers were engaged in industrial activities that had no bearing…

Norwegian offshore vessel operator Siem Offshore has tapped Finnish maritime technology firm Wärtsilä to help it cut emissions and fuel consumption aboard two well intervention vessels.The two vessels, the Siem Helix 1 and Siem Helix 2, each operate with eight Wärtsilä 32 engines. The ships are operating in Brazil’s offshore oil fields.According to Wärtsilä, the 5-year agreement will ensure the optimal maintenance required to reduce the vessels’ fuel consumption and emissions…