Norway's Solstad Offshore has added another two years of contract work in deals with key clients.
The Oslo-listed company said it has signed charter extensions with Norwegian oil major Equinor and Aker BP, in which leading Solstad shareholder Kjell Inge Rokke also holds a stake.
Equinor has declared an option to extend the contract for the 20,700-bhp anchor-handling tug supply (AHTS) vessel Normand Ferking (built 2007) for another year to November 2021.
The charterer has options to stretch the deal for another two 12-month periods.
Normand Ferking has been on contract with Equinor since delivery in 2007.
In addition, as part of a frame agreement, Aker BP is keeping the 5,800-dwt platform supply vessel (PSV) Far Solitaire (built 2012) on for another year, from 1 January.
Both ships will continue to support oil and gas activities on the Norwegian continental shelf.
Spot rates staying healthy
No rates were given, but North Sea spot numbers remain healthier than earlier in the year when Covid-19 disruption was hitting earnings hard.
Norwegian broker Westshore said the utilisation rate for PSVs is 88% and 75% for AHTSs.
PSV day rates stand at NOK 190,000 ($19,900) in Norway, with only four of 52 ships charter-free in North Sea ports.
AHTS rates are currently NOK 315,000. Eight of 27 vessels are open.
Meanwhile, Solstad's Norwegian rival DOF has been adding to its contract backlog outside the North Sea.
The company said Woodside has awarded subsidiary DOF Subsea a deal to provide transportation and installation services in support of flowline operations in the Cossack Wanaea Lambert and Hermes field on Australia's North West shelf.
Asia Pacific work
The contract is expected to be completed during the third quarter of 2021, using the 107-loa diving support vessel Skandi Singapore (built 2011).
Before that, the vessel will carry out a new diving job in the Asia Pacific region over three or four weeks, starting early in the fourth quarter of this year.
DOF also said it had won a second contract in the region for onshore preparation and planning for a decommissioning project.
Chief executive Mons Aase said: "I am pleased that that we continue to build backlog for the region and that DOF Subsea is a trusted provider for integrated subsea operations across multiple disciplines."
