Offshore Operations News

2024 marks 50 years of ship design work for Kongsberg Maritime. From setting the benchmark that set the standard for offshore supply vessels in the 1970s, to advanced anchor handlers that transformed the oil and gas industry, and a growing reference list in fishery and merchant ships, Kongsberg Maritime’s range of ship designs has continued to evolve over the past five decades.The early 1970s, at the dawn of the offshore oil and gas industry, saw the very first vessels, designed…

JUB Pacific, a Singapore-based provider of specialized offshore liftboat services, has acquired one of the largest liftboats in Africa, said to be perfectly suited for servicing major players in the oil and gas sector within the Africa region.JUB Pacific acquired the Caracal Pioneer liftboat, which shall be renamed to JUB Pioneer, in a strategic move to extend the company’s global reach and solidify its position as one of the leading liftboat players.The unit is well-equipped to support a diverse range of offshore operations which is highly required by large oil companies in Africa…

Briston. R.I. based naval architecture and marine engineering frim Bristol Harbor Group, Inc. (BHGI) announced it has hired Kyle Pagan as a naval architect.Pagan holds a Master’s degree in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering from the University of New Orleans and a Bachelor’s degree in Petroleum Engineering from Louisiana State University. For his graduate research, he conducted an in-depth study of the performance of 3D printing materials under the influence of water exposure…

Saipem has signed a letter of intent for the development of CO2 offshore transportation and storage facilities as part of the Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP) and Net Zero Teesside Power (NZTP) projects for the East Coast Cluster in the UK.Saipem signed a Letter of Intent, received by the Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP), a joint venture between the operator BP, Equinor, and TotalEnergies, and Net Zero Teesside Power (NZT Power), a joint venture between BP and Equinor.The…

Bibby Marine has secured a three-year contract extension with long-standing client TotalEnergies EP Nederland for its ‘walk-to-work’ service operation vessel (SOV) Bibby WaveMaster 1.The three-year charter extension will begin in the first quarter of 2025, and the vessel will be deployed on the Dutch continental shelf in the Southern North Sea.The SOV will continue to accommodate and transport service engineers and maintenance personnel, supporting gas production activities across…

In the commercial maritime and offshore industries, where worker safety and competency are crucial, effective training practices are an absolute must. While hands-on, in-the-field learning will always be a vital component of any mariner’s training, marine simulation has become a welcome enhancement to the education process. And in some cases, it’s seen as a safer alternative to traditional survival craft and rescue boat training.A leader in this space is Virtual Marine, based in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Norwegian offshore vessel owner DOF Group has secured a new contract and a contract extension for two of its vessels that will be employed in the Asia Pacific region.The latest contract secured for the region is related to Skandi Hercules vessel that will see it fully utilized off the Australian coast into the third quarter of 2024.The contracted scope includes project management and engineering, logistics support and execution of various inspection, maintenance, and repair (IMR)…

Altera Infrastructure has hired DOF to install Voyageur Spirit floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) unit as well as one floating storage unit (FSO) at Eni-operated Baleine oil field offshore Ivory Coast.The project includes the complete installation of seabed mooring systems, flowline between the FSO – a converted shuttle tanker Nordic Brasilia - and the Voyageur Spirit FPSO, along with their associated equipment.The contract for the redeployment of the FPSO and the FSO was secured by Altera back in October 2023.Voyageur Spirit is a cylindrical-shaped FPSO…

Naval architecture and marine engineering firm BMT unveiled its new design for a 48-meter service operation vessel (SOV).BMT said the mid-sized vessel sits in between crew transfer vessels (CTV) and typical SOVs, providing a more cost-effective solution to achieving operational requirements as operators in the offshore market look for ways to reduce their operational expenditure (opex). Incorporating a methanol-ready design, the SOV features an optimized hull form and machinery configuration, built on a dynamic diesel-electric platform.

Windward Offshore has exercised its option for the design and construction for two additional hybrid commissioning service operation vessels (CSOV) from Vard.Windward Offshore, a consortium led by ASSC's offshore arm SeaRenergy Group in Germany, announced its initial order for two CSOVs from Vard in October 2023. Other founding partners behind the venture include Blue Star Group, Diana Shipping Inc. and SeraVerse."Windward Offshore is pleased to announce the execution of the options for two further VARD 4 19 CSOVs…

Bibby Marine announced it has tapped Longitude Engineering to design its first-of-kind zero-emission electric service operation vessel (SOV).The "eSOV" project, as the project partners are calling it, was first announced in September 2023 and recently awarded £20 million under the U.K.'s Zero Emission Vessel and Infrastructure (ZEVI) competition as stakeholders across the marine and offshore industries strive for cleaner vessel operations.Nigel Quinn, Bibby Marine CEO, said, “This project is the natural progression of our decarbonization journey…

Chartering, sale and purchase, and market intelligence brokerage Colebrook Offshore has changed its name to CSO Shipbrokers in a strategic rebrand.“We have achieved significant growth over the past two years, more than doubling the size of our team and consistently developing our client base and list of active projects” said Tony Colebrook, Chief Executive Officer of CSO Marine Group.“Colebrook Offshore has served us well up to this point, but with Sam Stout now taking the reins as Managing Director of the Brokerage…

Ocean services provider DeepOcean has agreed to charter a converted, battery-powered vessel to further enhance its subsea offering to the offshore renewables and oil and gas industries.DeepOcean has entered into a long-time charter agreement for the Island Condor – to be renamed Island Ocean multi-purpose support vessel (MPSV) – following conversion and upgrade.The vessel has been chartered from Norwegian shipowner Island Offshore., with the contract starting in the third quarter of 2024.

Damen Shipyards Group has officially launched a fully electric service operations vessel (SOV), 70 meters x 17 meters, with its offshore charging capabilities.To achieve offshore charging, Damen has partnered with UK-based MJR Power & Automation – a company that has previously developed an offshore charging system for a crew transfer vessel.The charging system uses the motion-compensated gangway to create a connection between the vessel and a turbine or substation offshore, in much the same way a personnel transfer is undertaken.

KOTUG said Tuesday it had, via its Guyanese subsidiary KOTUG Guyana strengthened its position in Guyana with the arrival of three additional Offshore Terminal Tugs to support ExxonMobil Guyana’s offshore operations.With the arrival of KOTUG-owned ‘SD Grace’, ‘Seaways 20’ and ‘Seaways 22’, KOTUG will operate a total of five offshore terminal tugs in Guyana.The vessels predominantly provide support (“tanker lifting operations”) to the large crude oil tankers that are loading crude oil from ExxonMobil's producing FPSOs in the Stabroek field…

Cummins is working with partners in the U.K. to develop and deploy a methanol conversion kit for an engine aboard an Ocean Infinity offshore support vessel (OSV) as the maritime industry works toward transitioning to cleaner fuels.The engine manufacturer announced its proposal to jointly develop a Methanol Kit for its QSK60 engine was selected to receive funding as part of the Zero Emission Vessels and Infrastructure (ZEVI) competition, funded by the U.K. government and delivered…

AD Ports Group said Tuesday it had acquired offshore vessels from E-NAV, for around $200 million, to bolster offshore operations in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.According to AD Ports, the vessels make up a well-maintained, diversified fleet with an average age of around 9 years, significantly less than the industry average. All 10 vessels are expected to be delivered in Q4 2023 with financial consolidation taking place from Q1 2024 onwards."The acquisitions, from international Offshore Supply Vessel owner and operator E-NAV…

Danish offshore vessel owner Maersk Supply Service has selected the Fleet Data IoT platform from Inmarsat Maritime, a Viasat business, to help optimize the performance of its first vessel battery installation onboard the Maersk Minder anchor handler.The solution will also allow Maersk Supply Service to evaluate how best to optimize the use of zero-emission energy storage systems across its fleet. According to Inmarsat, an end-user API gathers data from onboard equipment, automatically organizes it with time-stamps…

Miros, a global ocean insights specialist, said Monday it had advanced its offering to the maritime sector by integrating weather forecast layers into its Miros Cloud Home solution (miros.app)."The new version of Miros Cloud Home incorporates popular weather forecasting conditions from Windy with its proprietary accurate real-time wave, current, and weather measurements, bridging the gap between actual measurements and weather projections," Miros said.According to Miros, the solution…

Kongsberg Digital has launched an application called Vessel Performance Merchant, to meet the merchant fleet's need for optimised voyage decision-making.The application is designed for the merchant fleet to enhance fuel efficiency and optimise the overall performance of both the vessel and its crew."By collecting and contextualising data from the vessel's onboard sensors, automation systems, and manually reported data through the vessel-to-cloud cloud infrastructure Vessel Insight…

A very active Atlantic hurricane season so far this year has not sent storms across U.S. oil and natural gas fields in the northern Gulf of Mexico, sparing energy companies billions of dollars of losses and consumers higher fuel costs.The 2023 Atlantic hurricane season has been another in a string with above average activity producing three major hurricanes with winds above 111 mph (179 kph) out of six hurricanes among 20 named tropical storms.So far this year, only one storm, Tropical Storm Harold, on Aug.

Subsea services company DeepOcean and the Norwegian oil and gas company Aker BP have agreed to "pioneer" the use of an unmanned surface vessel (USV) for subsea inspection, maintenance, and repair (IMR) and survey work.The first USV is planned to be ready for offshore operations from 2025, when it will go on an eight-year charter agreement with DeepOcean from specialist provider USV AS."Aker BP and DeepOcean already cooperate under a frame agreement for subsea IMR and survey work, and Aker BP has contributed to the development of the USV.

Britoil Offshore Services said this week it had acquired 30 offshore service vessels and supporting offices in Singapore from Dutch shipping firm Vroon."The acquisition will see an expansion of Britoil’s operating footprint into the Mediterranean, the North Sea and Asia Pacific. The operations will also synergise in the Middle East and Africa," Britoil said.The 30 vessels and supporting offices were part of Vroon’s offshore services business. Earlier this year, Vroon announced it would sell these vessels as part of a strategic reorientation.