The latest succession of offshore vessel charters are mainly for construction, supply, and maintenance projects with various clients in the North Sea, Africa, South America, and the Pacific. Although some observers point out that the construction and supply vessel sector continues to be plagued by uncertainty leading to low utilisation, the growing number of awarded charters may be regarded as proof that customer confidence remains strong in this sector of the industry.
Bourbon Oceanteam CSV wins Boskalis charter
Bourbon and Oceanteam's jointly owned construction support vessel (CSV) Southern Ocean has been awarded a charter contract by Boskalis.
Works on this contract are scheduled to commence in February 2021 for a period of approximately two months. Boskalis' primary activity under this contract will be the transport and installation of suction pile anchors and mooring chains.
Solstad PSV, CSV trio bag new contracts
Solstad Offshore's platform supply vessel (PSV) Sea Forth has been awarded a term contract with a UK operator to support the latter's assets in the UK North Sea. The contract is for an initial one year firm period, with two optional years included, and will commence on April 1, 2021.
Solstad has also been awarded charters for three subsea CSVs for works across the western hemisphere.
Normand Energy will support a project for a client in the Pacific Ocean with an estimated duration of five months, including mobilisation and demobilisation. The contract is scheduled to commence during February 2021.
Far Samson has secured a contract for support of cable lay operations. This agreement is firm for 90 days with options for the remainder of 2021 with commencement scheduled for April/May 2021.
Normand Jarstein has secured a contract with a Norwegian subsea contractor for a project in West Africa. The commencement will be in January 2021 and the duration is two months firm plus a one-month option.
In addition, Normand Jarstein has been awarded a contract with a UK-based oil company for a duration of approximately two months firm. The commencement of this later project will be in the second half of May 2021.
Esvagt's newest SOV to begin work for Vestas in Belgium, Netherlands
Esvagt Schelde, the newest SOV in the Esvagt fleet, will soon begin work in support of Vestas as the Borssele three and four and Northwester two offshore wind farms in the Netherlands and Belgium, respectively.
The vessel has undergone equipment testing and sea trials with assistance from Vestas.
Although Esvagt admits the deployment of Esvagt Schelde for the Vestas charter occurred two months behind schedule due to Covid-19, the company claims the accelerated mobilisation phase for the vessel was successfully and safely carried out and all preparations were found by the client to be satisfactory.
Nexans Norway taps Havila Shipping for PSV
Havila Shipping has entered into a charter contract with Nexans Norway for the PSV Havila Phoenix. The contract is for a firm period of 90 days with an optional period of 90 days.
Commencement is planned for April 2021.
Eidesvik scores long-term work with Siemens Gamesa
Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy has awarded Eidesvik Offshore a long-term time charter for the service operation vessel (SOV) Acergy Viking. The contract will commence in direct continuation of the current contract extending the firm period until the end of January 2027.
Originally built as a survey platform, Acergy Viking later underwent conversion work to enable it to operate in the light construction role.
Maersk Drilling awarded two Suriname floater contracts by Total
Based on a previously announced conditional letter of award, Maersk Drilling has been awarded contracts for the deepwater rigs Maersk Valiant and Mærsk Developer from Total E&P Suriname, Suriname Branch, for Total's exploration and appraisal project in Suriname's Block 58.
The rigs will be employed for an estimated combined total duration of 500 days. Mærsk Developer is expected to commence operations in January 2021, while Maersk Valiant is expected to commence operations in March 2021.
The total value of the firm contracts is approximately US$100 million, including rig modifications, integrated services provided, and a mobilisation fee for Maersk Valiant. The contracts include various extension options.
