Ausmarine - Featured

Focus on Offshore Oil and Gas Operations

Alex Baird

The string of bad luck for the beleaguered OSV market continues as the effects of the coronavirus lingers and the Russian invasion of Ukraine showing no signs of slowing.

Meanwhile, bankruptcies, takeovers and instances of corruption and mismanagement are almost weekly occurrences, as regular readers of Baird Maritime's Offshore Accounts column would be painfully aware of.

Follow-on effects of the Russian invasion have also laid bare the holes in the renewables dream, with nuclear energy seriously back on the table for the first time in decades. How this will effect its less efficient competition in wind and tidal remains to be seen, but the most heavily subsidised sectors are always vulnerable in a large-scale energy shake-up.

OSVs • Exploration • Extraction • Processing • Construction • Storage • Operations • Renewables

Many of the vessels built before 2015 are large, powerful and versatile, and if maintained well, they are still good and useful ships. This continues to put a significant dampener on the OSV newbuilding market, while the second-hand market remains stagnant.

Despite all the bad news, some innovative and versatile newbuilds continue to be delivered and the refit/conversion market remains strong, as readers will see this week. Exciting times are ahead one way or another for this volatile market.

Vessel Reviews:

News and Gear:

Recent Important Features:

– "There have been genuine achievements by UDS, for example, in early March 2022, the company recovered a downed American fighter jet from water depths of over 3,700 metres in the South China Sea."

– by Hieronymus Bosch, Baird Maritime's anonymous insider in the world of offshore oil and gas operations

– "With judicious bail outs from shareholders and support from lenders, the oil and gas services business is returning to good health."

– by Hieronymus Bosch, Baird Maritime's anonymous insider in the world of offshore oil and gas operations

– "A strong parent company can shield a company against the worst of the market cycle, and the worst adverse shocks fate can throw, allowing them to reap upside when the market finally turns."

– by Hieronymus Bosch, Baird Maritime's anonymous insider in the world of offshore oil and gas operations

– "The vessel stands out for combining an original design with a durable steel hull with relatively small size."

– "The vessel belongs to a series designed to provide greater deadweight capacity at higher speeds and with a deep draught."

– "As the Ukrainian people continue to suffer under Russian attack, companies and their ties to Russia are going to face increasingly difficult questions."

– by Hieronymus Bosch, Baird Maritime's anonymous insider in the world of offshore oil and gas operations

– "Our motion compensated gangways, the so-called 'telescopic access bridges' (TABs), stand out with the lowest energy consumption and highest workability in the market."

– "She has a fully integrated ROV hangar, a depth rating of 3,000 metres, and a high degree of redundancy for a mechanical driven AHTS in the current market."

– "Unique features such as the ability to choose between catamaran and SWATH operating mode and specially designed bow fenders offer significantly improved efficiency and safety."

– "It is a heavy duty vessel with a number of modifications in fulfilment of owner specifications, especially increased speed thanks to a new propulsion system."

– "The craft offers an increased capacity of 40 seats, compared to 30 for all the other units in the same series that we delivered so far."

Call for content!

Any news or views about the global offshore industry? Send it through to editor@bairdmaritime.com ASAP (between now and May 6), so we can add it to this current edition of Offshore Week!

We are after:

  • Vessels – Orders, new deliveries, under construction
  • Gear – Latest innovations and technology in the offshore vessel sector
  • Interviews – Owners, operators, designers, builders etc.
  • Reminiscences – Do you have any exciting, amusing or downright dangerous anecdotes from your time in the offshore world? (example here)
  • Other – Any other relevant news

Stay updated on future Offshore Weeks

Sign up here to be notified in advance about future Offshore Weeks.

Subscribe