Thursday 3 November 2016

Maersk Supply Service has launched a new business unit aimed at providing the industry with integrated solutions, including project decommissioning.

The new unit will follow on from the work the company is already doing on Maersk Oil’s ageing Janice field in the North Sea, where, as lead contractor, Maersk Supply started decommissioning work in September.

With vessel operations remaining the core business, Maersk Supply will now, in addition, bundle services and manage sub-contractors to offer a more simplified and efficient operation to customers, it said.

“As the industry is undergoing structural changes, our customers are seeking better value from their operations and their supply base. We have an opportunity to lighten the load of their procurement and operational activities by shifting the nature of our relationships, allowing our customers to focus 100% on their core business,” Maersk Supply Service chief executive Steen Karstensen said.

The newly established department will be led by new head of integrated solutions Olivier Trouve, who brings with him 25 years of experience in the energy and subsea industries.

Maersk Supply is already responsible for engineering, project planning and managing the full scope of the subsea decommissioning at Janice, where it is utilising up to ten of its own vessels.

The project end date is estimated during summer of 2018.

“As Janice shows, Maersk Supply is well positioned to take on additional scopes for our customers. Utilising our large fleet of diverse assets, technical expertise and global network we can plan and execute a wide range of projects that cater to the needs of our customers,” Karstensen said.

Maersk Supply, which removed up top 20 vessles from its fleet, has been forced to cut back on its workforce this year due to low earnings amid the market slump.

Last month, the company reduced staff numbers by an extra 25% on top of earlier announced crew cutbacks, making redundant close to 500 members in total.