Farstad Shipping, which trades on the Oslo bourse, shed light on the revelation in its latest earnings report.
The operator said three modern anchor-handlers and an ageing platform-supply vessel (PSV) recently entered “temporary” lay-up as a consequence of “conditions” in the North Sea.
While the anchor handlers have previously been reported by TradeWinds to have been taken out of the market, the PSV lay-up had not been written of before.
Farstad pointed out that other important regions, like Brazil and Australia, are suffering as well due to overcapacity and a steep decline in oil prices, which has taken a toll on activity.
It’s unclear if the owner intends to lay-up more tonnage but management noted it is has initiated “other efficiency and cost saving measures” in an effort to combat the downturn.
The commentary followed a period in which the operator achieved quarterly operating income of NOK 1,111.7m and an operating profit of NOK 102.8m.
Farstad reported a fourth-quarter loss after taxes of NOK 225.8m and an operating profit of NOK 785.3m for the 12 months to 31 December 2014, versus a gain of NOK 869.5m in 2013.
Farstad is based in Aalesund where it oversees a fleet of 32 anchor-handlers and 26 PSVs. At last check its stable also included four subsea vessels and three newbuildings.
You can read the company’s latest earnings report in full by clicking on the link located under the Related Media section to the right of this article
