Fearnley Offshore Supply celebrated 50 years in business and the return of its once-annual Nor-Shipping awards dinner.
Roughly 200 came out to celebrate the Oslo-headquartered brokerage’s golden anniversary, while the company brought back the lighthearted show recognising the recent achievements of players in the offshore segment. It had been put off due to Covid-19.
“Over the past 50 years we’ve grown from being a tiny desk in the corner of the building to a thriving business with a global presence,” managing director Harald Lovik said.
“We’ve faced market storms, we’ve adapted to changing technologies, new ideas we have to embrace. We’ve definitely faced our fair few challenging markets, but through it all, we remain focused on our number one goal, which is providing exceptional brokering services to clients.”
Former managing director Tor Widing recounted some of the big changes he had seen since he started as an offshore broker in the late 1970s, just a few years after Fearnley Offshore Supply started.
He said ships got much bigger and crews more diverse. The sector became more international, communication shifted from fax machines to email to mobile phones and demand for renewable energy grew.
“I believe that 50 years is really an achievement in oil and gas,” he told the crowd. “I think it is fair to say oil and gas will be in demand for many years to come.”
“I think it was generally accepted that the offshore industry was a sunset industry. And this may be correct, but I strongly believe that it will be a long time until the sun finally sets. Oil and gas and renewables will work side by side for many years to come.”
During the awards portion of the evening, Boskalis was recognised for its work in US offshore wind, Atlantica Shipping for acquiring five offshore vessels in the last year and Equinor and Per Saevik for their longevity in offshore energy.
Boa Offshore was honoured for its durability in the industry, Island Offshore for taking a risk on a newbuilding, Subsea 7 for working in both oil and gas and renewables and Reach Subsea for adding significant tonnage.
