Owners of platform supply vessels in the North Sea are enjoying higher rates than usual after a flotilla of ships left the region for work in the Baltic Sea.
Contractor Allseas has snapped up 11 PSVs for its Nord Stream II project, leaving tonnage tight in the spot market.
Owners of the ships include Bourbon, Solstad Offshore and SD Standard Drilling.
Norwegian shipbroker Seabrokers said the beginning of winter had been "slightly better" than owners may have expected, after Allseas "soaked up" a considerable proportion of the fleet.
The ships are providing pipehaul support on multi-week contracts in the Baltic.
Fleet-use rising
As a result, utilisation hit 96% this week in the North Sea, according to Westshore Shipbrokers.
The 22 vessels in the PSV market in Norway were sold out on Tuesday, while just one remained free in the UK, out of 49.
This meant Olympic Shipping's 3,000-dwt Olympic Electra (built 2011) attained £13,500 ($17,600) per day for supply duties from Premier Oil, which was double the rate of last week's deals.
"While the vessels were only chartered to provide support for a multi-week period, meaning they will be back on the spot market relatively quickly, this rapid tightening of supply has helped some owners maintain slightly higher rates than they may have expected at this time of year," Seabrokers said.
The Nord Stream II project has had a significant impact on the North Sea spot market for PSVs this year, especially during the summer when the departure of several vessels to the Baltic Sea prompted average rates to spike to more than £15,000 per day.
Anchor-handlers hit year high
On the anchor handling tug supply (AHTS) unit side, the limited pool of supply and adverse winter weather have led to periods of significant tightness on the spot market, Seabrokers said.
While average rates in November were not particularly high, prolonged periods of stormy weather have led to an increasing backlog of rig moves.
As soon as the weather windows opened up again, a rush of requirements inevitably led to a surge in rates, and the first half of December saw the highest individual spot day rates of the year. Fixtures came in as high as NOK 900,000 ($100,000).
"As is usually the case, however, it has not all been good news for owners, with several charters coming in below NOK 240,000 at the opposite end of the scale," Seabrokers added.
Utilisation is running at 88% for AHTS vessels, according to Westshore.
