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Osv News

23 Feb 2024

The APAC Offshore Market: Riding the Wave of Success into 2024 and Beyond

Copyright Peter Hermes Furian/AdobeStock

2023 was the first year of real recovery for owners in the offshore supply market and yet we have barely skimmed the surface of what’s to come.The market is still on an upward trajectory with charter rates accelerating month-by-month, availability changing day-by-day, leading to earnings doubling and, in some segments, tripling since the lows of 2020. Current rates will remind many of the glory days of pre-2014 with the demand for OSVs projected to remain elevated for years to come.In general…

21 Dec 2023

Will 2024 be the Year of AHTS Recovery?

The new MS Island Victory Water Installation Vessel for Island Offshore with amazing 477 tonnes bollard pull.
Copyright Arild/AdobeStock

As 2023 is drawing to a close we would once again invite the readers of Offshore Engineer Magazine to gaze into our crystal ball to see what 2024 might have in store for the offshore support vessel industry. Before diving straight into our forward-looking sentiments however, it is important to address some of the main trends in the year that past as these lay the foundation for the year to come.Continuing the market development from the year before, 2023 very much advanced the ongoing recovery for offshore support vessels further.

14 Dec 2023

Aker Capital Takes Larger Stake in Solstad Offshore

Source: Solstad Offshore

Aker Capital AS has acquired 8,240,000 shares in Solstad Offshore ASA, at an average price of NOK 48.45 per share.Following the transaction, Aker Capital holds 27,089,493 shares in the company, corresponding to an ownership interest of approximately 32.9%.Aker Capital AS is 100% owned by Aker ASA and represented on the board of the company by Frank Ove Reite. Frank Ove Reite also owns 356,509 shares in the company, through Fausken Invest AS.In its Q3 market update, Solstad was positive about demand for offshore services, both from oil and gas and renewables.

04 Oct 2023

PSV Retrofitted for Hybrid Operation

Image courtesy of Skansi Offshore

Skansi Offshore’s platform supply vessel (PSV), Kongsborg, has had a battery hybrid solution installed that is designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fuel consumption.SEAM delivered, and was the system integrator of, its hybrid solution, the e-SEAMatic® BLUE. The 1800kVA/620kWh system was installed in a dedicated pre-built deckhouse, complete with necessary auxiliary systems – significantly reducing the installation time onboard the vessel.The objective of this integration was twofold: a significant reduction in fuel emissions…

27 Sep 2023

Report: Five Digitalization Steps that can Drive OSV Fuel Efficiency

Credit: Opsealog / Luoman

A new white paper published by maritime performance management company Opsealog sets out five practical steps that OSV operators can take to secure improvements in fuel efficiency through better data analytics.Existing data that companies are already collecting, for example in mandatory logbooks, can enable significant vessel and fleet efficiency gains, says Opsealog.With case studies drawn from Opsealog’s eight years of experience across the world’s offshore markets, the research highlights how having detailed digital monitoring in place helps owners…

31 Aug 2023

The Resurgence of the OSV Industry: From Trough to Triumph

Photo Copyright: Arlid/AdobeStock

The offshore supply vessel industry has weathered a tumultuous decade characterized by a prolonged trough that tested the resilience of vessel owners. However, the tides have turned, and the industry is now experiencing a strong and much-awaited revival.The offshore supply vessel industry has weathered a tumultuous decade characterized by a prolonged trough that tested the resilience of vessel owners. However, the tides have turned, and the industry is now experiencing a strong and much-awaited revival.While long seen as a derelict industry by investors…

23 Aug 2023

NYK Gains ISO Certification for Crew Transfer Vessel SMS

Source: NYK

On August 17, NYK received ISO9001:20151 certification from ClassNK for its activities to promote the safe operation of its crew transfer vessel (CTV) in the offshore wind industry.In addition to the safety management system (SMS) set up by the ship-management company, NYK will implement NAV90004 activities that promote safe navigation based on NYK’s own safety standard, NAV9000, which has been certified by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), to achieve an even higher level of quality control and safer navigation.

20 Jun 2023

Energy Transition: What is an Offshore Vessel Operator to Do?

Copyright AdobeStock/Imladris

The energy transition is moving ahead amid recovery in offshore oil & gas and growth in offshore wind, leaving vessel owners that serve these markets with big questions about energy carrier and energy converter selection for their newbuilds.What is driving the change?The foundations of energy transition in the offshore and marine segment can be found at global, regional, national and local levels:At a global level, International Maritime Organization (IMO) measures cover vessel energy efficiency (for vessels over 400 gross tonnes) and carbon intensity (for vessels over 5…

30 Jan 2023

OSVs Help to Power North American Maritime Fuel Transition

Just five out of the 1,664 OSVs operate on clean fuel technology in the U.S., and all of them are owned and operated by Harvey Gulf International Marine. Harvey Gulf’s ‘green fleet’ utilizes LNG and Bio-LNG as the main fuel sources. Pictured is Harvey Champion with Corvus Orca energy storage system. Image courtesy Harvey Gulf

The fuel switch in maritime is on, its real, and it will be driving vessel design, construction and operation decisions for decades to come. While many still debate the merits of each alternative fuel, OSV industry leaders are at the forefront driving change, and they need to be, as in North America alone OSVs makes up 17% of the fleet but contributes 29% of the maritime emissions. In the next edition of Offshore Engineer, Barry Parker takes a deeper dive on the plans underway to wean maritime operations off of fossil fuels.

19 Jan 2023

Interview: Tim M. Clerc, VP Engineering, Seacor Marine

SEACOR Demerara 9th hybrid in the program.
By permission of SEACOR Marine

Tim Clerc’s maritime career spans half a century, starting with his cadet training in 1969 in the U.K. He sees hybrid technology as one of the most transformational technological developments in maritime in that span, and the company is currently awaiting its 10th hybrid, the Seacor Yangtze. Clerc discusses the hybrid strategy and offers some practical insights.If you had to pick one technology that you think has made the business of running ships more efficient, more cost effective…

03 Jan 2023

2023 Outlook: The Offshore Service Vessel Market

Copyright Ramon Cliff/AdobeStock

The market for offshore support vessels has been through a rather rough few years since offshore exploration and production activity took a nose-dive in 2015 following the oil price crash the year before.The newbuild order boom that came with the ever-greener pastures imagined in the industry ensured that not only was the supply- and demand balance off by an insurmountable degree in the years that followed, but at its peak, in 2017, the oversupply of anchor handling tug supply…

13 Jun 2022

Demand Grows for OSVs in the Offshore Floating Production and Storage Energy Sector

Copyright Igor Kardasov/AdobeStock

Over the last year we have seen an upswing in floating production and storage systems ordering after many years of low activity. According to our colleagues at World Energy Reports, “The global oil and natural gas markets are contending with rebounding energy demand on top of supply disruptions from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. As a result, activity and business sentiment in the floating production sector has seldom been stronger.”  This increased activity in the floating production…

01 Apr 2021

Horizon Maritime Signs On to Support Titanic Dive

(Photo: OceanGate Expeditions)

Canadian offshore services company Horizon Maritime has signed on to support a dive mission to explore the wreck of the Titanic.OceanGate Expeditions, the crewed submersible exploration company leading the mission, selected the multipurpose offshore support vessel (OSV) Horizon Arctic to serve as the surface support vessel for the expedition scheduled to take place later this year.The RMS Titanic shipwreck lies approximately 2,500 feet below the ocean's surface, about 370 miles off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.

01 Mar 2021

MARKET: Why Don’t OSVs Get Scrapped?

Offshore Supply Vessel (Credit: STOCKSTUDIO/AdobeStock)

The OSV sector will be reliant on a hitherto unseen amount of scrapping to balance the market, writes Gregory Brown, Associate Director – Offshore, Maritime Strategies InternationalThere is a consensus that an OSV market recovery will only be driven a supply side rationalization. As well as a lack of newbuild activity, that rationalization will have to include unprecedented levels of scrapping in a market which has historically witnessed only limited levels of attrition.That limited level of attrition has several deep-seated roots…

14 Apr 2020

OSV Powers Up for Deepwater Efficiency the Island Offshore Way

Photos: Island Offshore/Droneinfo

While facing the same challenging market conditions as offshore vessel owners and service companies worldwide, Norway’s Island Offshore recently broke free from the enforced conservatism of the E&P sector, by adding not just a new ship to its fleet, but one that re-writes the rulebook in capabilities, technology and despite its size and power, environmental credentials.Simply put, Island Offshore’s new deep water installation Vessel ‘Island Victory’ is the most powerful multi-purpose offshore vessel ever built…

07 Feb 2020

Are OSVs Fit for Refit for Offshore Wind?

BEFORE: Island Clipper: Island Offshore of Ulsteinvik, Norway, has had success with conversions.  “before” and “after”.  Photos: Island Offshore

While it is generally agreed that the nascent offshore wind energy market in the U.S. will be a newbuild market, there is a repair and conversion possibility for some stacked OSVs.Though estimates on the pace of the offshore wind energy market in the U.S. vary widely, the direction is clear: offshore wind will be a huge marketplace for construction and support vessels to be deployed in U.S. waters over the next decade. The starting point for estimated vessel demand is the raft of projects along the U.S. East Coast, and to a lesser extent, in the Pacific waters, now in the pipeline.

08 Dec 2019

Offshore: OSV Market Report

Photo courtesy Ulstein Group/Marius Beck Dahle

The environment in oil patches onshore and offshore alike has been challenging throughout 2019; worries about an economic slowdown – whether cyclical or induced by a trade war – have weighed heavily on oil prices, even in the face of reduced production by the big producers. Though storm clouds persist, there appears a clearing on the horizon.The fate of Offshore Service Vessels (OSVs) is, naturally, closely tied to the price of oil. Seacor Marine’s John Gellert, in reviewing its Q2 results, said: “Activity levels in the U.S.

14 Aug 2019

North Sea Spot Market Remains Challenging

The North Sea spot market has improved during the second quarter of 2019, as a result of increased rig activity, said Viking Supply Ships.However, the Norway-based supply shipping company expects that the overall market conditions will likely remain somewhat challenging.According to Trond Myklebust, CEO and President of Viking Supply Ships, the rig activity in the North Sea is expected to see a modest increase during Q3, before softening slightly during the winter season.The long-term trend within the offshore market is however positive, with a gradual recovery of the rig activity in the region. It is therefore expected that also the OSV segment will gradually improve.The North Sea market has seen increased activity levels during the second quarter.

10 Jan 2019

United Wind Logistics Picks MAN GenSets for Newbuilding

Rendering of the new deck carrier (picture courtesy Heavylift@Sea)

Chinese shipyard Jiangsu Zhenjiang Shipyard Group Co,.Ltd has ordered 2 × MAN 9L 21/31 + 2 × MAN 6L16/24 GenSets in connection with the construction of an modern deck carrier. The specialized vessel will transport offshore wind-turbine components and has been ordered by Hamburg-based company, United Wind Logistics (UWL), which is employing Peter Döhle Schiffahrts-KG for building supervision and technical management. The order includes options for two further vessels. MAN Energy Solutions’ licensee…

09 Apr 2019

OSVs: Restarting that Idled Vessel

Š Iain Cameron

Owners of offshore support vessels (OSV) are beginning to examine the possibility of reactivating some of their fleet even as the consistent volatility of oil prices and a healthy stream of ships projected from global shipyards keeps their enthusiasm in check.According to Clarksons, demand for the versatile ships, which support offshore exploration and production activities around the world, edged up 3% in 2018, with marginally higher day rates tempting some units out of lay-up.Most of the idle OSV fleet is unlikely to become active this year…

08 Apr 2019

OSV Market: Which Way is Up?

OSV "THUNDER" owned by Jackson Offshore serving floater "DEEPWATER CONQUERER"
Source: Jackson Offshore

Any analysis of markets for offshore service vessels (OSV) usually begins with analogies to rough weather, best of times/worst of times or similar. OSV expert Seabrokers, with a home base in Stavanger, Norway, in the February edition of its Seabreeze market report follows this convention with a description of the “feast or famine” conditions in the North Sea. Recent day rate action highlights the localized nature of markets for anchor handlers (AHT), platform supply vessels (PSVs) and similar equipment…

03 Jan 2019

Bourbon Advises of General Waiver Renewal with Lenders

A bourbon offshore support vessel underway (CREDIT: Bourbon)

Bourbon has announced the renewal of the general waiver with its leasers and debt holders representing the majority of the group’s debt, thus allowing it to suspend the payments of its loans and debt.According to Bourbon, the waiver allows it to stay focused on its operational priorities, while pursuing its search for all solutions capable of adapting its financing to its performance, in a secured framework.In a prepared statement, the company said that it "remains confident in its ability to find such a solution in an amicable framework." No other information was provided.