Offshore Vessel Operators News

Wärtsilä has introduced a new high-performance thruster and propulsion control solution, which is said to raise the level of offshore dynamic positioning for greater efficiency and operational performance of vessels.The company’s new high-performance thruster and propulsion control solution package utilizes a combination of Wärtsilä’s WST-E embedded electric steerable thruster and WST-R retractable thrusters, together with an updated remote propulsion control system featuring an enhanced user interface ProTouch…

A first-of-its-kind crew transfer vessel (CTV) has been launched by U.K. shipbuilder Diverse Marine for offshore crew transfer specialist Seacat Services.The multihull newbuild, Seacat Columbia, is the first BARTech30 CTV designed by BAR Technologies in partnership with Chartwell Marine. The 30-meter-long features BAR Technologies' FOSS (foil optimized stability system), which enhances seakeeping and reduces fuel usage and emissions, according to the designer.Following the launch…

Norwegian owner and operator of offshore service vessels Golden Energy Offshore is deploying Inmarsat’s Fleet LTE service to meet the growing data requirements of modern offshore operations and support sustainability.Headquartered in Ålesund, Norway, Golden Energy Offshore owns and operates a fleet of offshore support vessels providing offshore services to the oil, gas, and renewables industries. The company is a long-term Inmarsat customer and also a longstanding user of the satellite communications specialist’s VSAT services.

Mobile satellite communications provider Inmarsat has secured a contract with the Norwegian offshore support vessel owner Golden Energy Offshore to provide its three-in-one network service Fleet LTE, to meet the needs of vessel charterers, crew, and operators.Using Fleet LTE, three Golden Energy Offshore support vessels will be able to switch between Fleet Xpress (Ka-band), FleetBroadband (L-band), and 4G coverage, depending on the strongest available signal, and band selection will be made automatically…

The Norwegian offshore vessel owner Solstad Offshore has signed a deal with Inmarsat for its new Fleet LTE service, which will cover the connectivity needs of multiple Solstad Offshore vessels in the North Sea.Mobile satellite communications firm Inmarsat explained that offshore vessel operators usually buy LTE and VSAT connectivity separately, using LTE when within range of shore, rigs, or wind farm networks then relying on the crew to switch manually to VSAT beyond 4G coverage limits.

It’s no secret that the U.S. offshore wind sector is finally about to burst into action after years of behind-the-scenes movement. With a new administration set to bolster the favorable political headwinds for the sector, establishing a strong domestic supply chain will be critical as the industry scales up.Offshore wind farm operators will need high-quality vessels ready to go, and crew transfer vessels (CTV) are vital when constructing and servicing new assets. Concurrently…

Aberdeen-based Seacroft Marine Consultants said it has appointed Richard Pearce as Marine Engineering and Dynamic Positioning (DP) Manager, as the firm looks to develop more specialized offshore marine projects. Pearce brings to the role 16 years’ experience in engineering and technical disciplines of the marine and offshore industry, including spells at some of the sector’s most prominent names. Most recently he was technical manager at Fletcher Group and service delivery manager…

Erik Johansen joined Elliott Bay Design Group's (EBDG) New Orleans office in December 2016 bringing with him 20 years of marine electrical experience. Johansen’s expertise includes supporting offshore vessel operators with major modifications, conversions and oversight of electrical contractors. His portfolio of vessel types includes workboats, ferries, tugboats, platform support vessels and chemical and petroleum carriers. Johansen enhances EBDG's growing electrical and marine engineering group with skills ranging from fleet electrical support to new design and installation support.

Gulf of Mexico vessel operators want to see sustained, higher oil prices. After a rough two years, supply boat owners and operators in the Gulf of Mexico hope crude oil prices will improve in 2017. That would encourage activity among the offshore drillers that they service and would put unemployed boats back in the water. Vessel owners aren’t necessarily banking on a good year ahead, however. “Utilization of OSVs and PSVs in the Gulf is below 50 percent now, down from about 70 percent a year ago and 90 percent two years ago…

Gibraltar’s Gibdock shipyard has completed an extensive package of work on Solstad Shipping’s Normand Cutter. The 127m long, 10,979grt construction support vessel (CSV) left the yard on June 29th following a 22-day drydock programme, which included a comprehensive overhaul of its entire propulsion system. Norway-based Solstad has become a regular Gibdock customer, entrusting the yard with work on a number of high-tech offshore vessels over the past decade. The 2001-built Normand Cutter is in fact a repeat visitor to the yard, having previously docked at Gibdock in April 2011 for its last 5-year special survey. Gibdock managing director, Richard Beards, says: “We are delighted that such a well-respected, quality operator as Solstad has decided to come back to us once again.

Gibraltar’s Gibdock shipyard has completed its scope of work on Solstad Shipping’s Normand Cutter, a 127-meter-long, 10,979grt construction support vessel (CSV) that left the yard on June 29 following a 22-day drydock program, which included an overhaul of its entire propulsion system. According to Gibdock , torway-based Solstad has become a regular customer, entrusting the yard with work on a number of high-tech offshore vessels over the past decade. In fact the 2001-built Normand Cutter is a repeat visitor to the yard…

Fleet management software developer Tero Marine has served the shipping industry for nearly three decades with a product range led by its software suite TM Master, now a leading fleet management brand with more than 2,000 licenses worldwide. The Bergen, Norway-based company and its fully integrated marine information system TM Master have managed to stay competitive amidst an explosion of companies providing fleet management and software solutions to the maritime market. Serving a clientele that includes navy…

Improved performance, efficiency and sustainability all figure strongly in the new solutions that GE’s Power Conversion business is unveiling at OTC 2013, the Offshore Technology Conference taking place in Houston, Texas, on May 6-9. • Enhanced Dynamic Positioning system with energy-efficiency mode that puts vessel control back in the hands of the mariner. • Upgraded supervisory system, Visor-Insight, designed to increase the availability and reliability of drives, machines and control systems operating in the field, and which incorporates an extremely powerful advanced data gathering, distribution and management tool set for offshore vessel operators.

Oceanografia S.A. de C.V., one of Mexico’s largest offshore vessel operators specializing in underwater survey, diving, pipe laying construction and maintenance operations, has signed a contract with ABS Nautical Systems to implement the NS5 Enterprise asset management software across its entire fleet of multi-purpose offshore support vessels. Six of the vessels are ABS-classed newbuilds and will utilize the Maintenance & Repair and Drawings Management modules as part of the ABS Newbuild Program, resulting in savings for software licenses, database development and consulting services of nearly $100,000. In addition, the company will also install the Purchasing & Inventory and Crew Management modules.

North Star Shipping has received a prestigious international award from one of the world's leading health and safety training, advisory and audit bodies. Following rigorous assessment by an independent adjudication panel the British Safety Council has bestowed its International Safety Award on North Star Shipping for the eleventh consecutive year. For an organisation to win this  award it must demonstrate that it has in place comprehensive health and safety policies, targeted plans and a clear commitment to health and safety from the shop floor to the boardroom.

Gibraltar-based shiprepair yard Gibdock has added another name to its increasingly long list of clients in the offshore sector. In September the yard drydocked the 3000grt Boa Galatea, an offshore survey vessel, for Norway’s Boa Offshore. This is the first time that the family-owned Boa Offshore business, which operates a fleet of over 40 offshore vessels, has used Gibdock, and comes hard on the heels of other offshore vessel contracts handled this year by the yard for Solstad, DOF and others.

As seen in the August edition of MarineNews, Susan Buchanan updates readers on the GOM oil production situation. BP's gushing well was capped more than a year ago but life is hardly back to normal in the U.S. Gulf--where rigs and vessels remain underutilized. At least ten rigs have moved overseas since last summer. Gulf oil production is below pre-spill levels and won't recover anytime soon, analysts say. Issuance of drilling permits picked up this spring as operators agreed to use oil-containment systems but permitting lags earlier rates.

Closed circuit television (CCTV) has become a common system on most supply boats serving the Gulf of Mexico. One company that makes extensive use of CCTV on its vessels is Hornbeck Offshore Services, Mandeville, La. This is a serious commitment as the company is in the process of adding a complete CCTV system to six 220-ft. supply vessels recently purchased from the Candy Fleet, Morgan City, La. "We use CCTV to accomplish several things," said George McCoy, vessel group manager with Hornbeck. "They are used to document loads, to monitor high risk operations, monitor restricted areas, promote safe work practices and to record any unusual incidents that occur aboard or around our vessels," McCoy added. The CCTV system used on board large vessels such as the 240-ft.

The inclusion of dynamic positioning systems has become a standard and necessary system on supply boats and many crew/supply vessels. In their simplest form, dynamic positioning systems allow an offshore vessel to "moor" adjacent to a rig or platform without the traditional mooring lines being attached to structure or the use of anchors. Instead thrusters both in the bow and the stern keep the vessel on station. The development of dynamic positioning systems and the use of them on every new supply vessel being built has a lot to do with the oil companies who own the structures being serviced by the vessels. These companies, with billion…

The one constant about the management of offshore vessel operating companies is the domination of family members of the founder. Except for the largest of these companies, Tidewater, Inc., that is a public NYSE-listed firm, most of the companies in this category, large and small, are run by the descendents of the founder. Many of these companies still bear the founder's name and most of the vessels are named after family members. In 1948, Abdon Callais converted a shrimp trawler into an offshore service vessel and that began a company that is in its third generation of providing transportation of fluids and cargo to offshore oil and gas rigs. Abdon's sons Harold and Ronald became involved with offshore oil buisness.

Although this has been considered an off year in the Gulf of Mexico from rig count and fleet utilization standpoints, it is another record year for major offshore operators expanding their fleets and the shipyards that are building these vessels. Last year, over 50 supply boats were delivered and about an equal number of crew/supply vessels made their way into the fleets of operators. This year looks equally robust as vessels are being ordered in quantities of four, six and even 10. This begs the question as to why offshore vessel operators are order record number of vessels if the business is sluggish? The answer is two fold: Deep water and deep gas. Drilling activity is bound to increase based on these two factors industry leaders believe.

By Barbara D. Recent changes to U.S. economic sanctions programs have resulted in both new opportunities and new restrictions for offshore service vessel operators. In April, the United States substantially reduced restrictions on trade with Libya. However, these actions were followed in early May by the imposition of a new embargo against Syria. In addition, over the past several months, many additional individuals and entities have been designated as subject to trade sanctions, and the Secretary of Homeland Security has been granted authority to take various measures to prevent the unauthorized entry of vessels into Cuban territorial waters.

There has been a steady stream of bad news recently in the marine press regarding the health of the oil and gas industry in the Gulf of Mexico. Much of this bad "press" is fueled by boat operators who are trying to do a "Rope-a-dope" on their competitors. That is by "talking the industry down" they are trying to convince competition that "better days" may be years out, hoping they may not be ready when the turnaround comes. All indications are that the industry will indeed drill itself out of the current malaise - sooner than later. And the indicators for such a turnaround are right in front of your face if you know where to look. In general, people who follow intensely the oil and gas industry all agree that a significant rebound is on the way.