Subsea Activity to Decline as More and More Vessels are Redelivered

Thursday 8 October 2015

Fearnley Offshore Supply AS (FOSAS) says more and more vessels in the form of newbuildings and redeliveries are flooding the subsea inspection, maintenance & repair (IMR) and construction markets with oversupply.

"Although everyone involved in offshore equipment has great concerns about the market, the really poor results have yet to be published," said FOSAS. "This is mainly a result of the 2015 season being just a busy as 2014. Some contractors even report higher activity and more work carried out than any previous year. However, we know that this is shortly coming to an end with 50-60 vessels becoming available some time before Christmas.

"Contractors see that 2016, and most likely 2017, may be worse than they have ever seen in the past, and owners can no longer hope for 3-5 year time charters on their subsea tonnage. Owners are left battling for project work on a worldwide basis, with rates at or below break-even levels."

Source: Offshore Shipping Online