Landmark offshore vessel newbuilding orders by Greek owners do not pose a danger to the sector’s recovery, according to one Norwegian shipbroker.
Fearnley Offshore Supply said deals this summer by Evangelos Marinakis’ Capital Offshore and another unnamed Greek player for up to 22 platform supply and multipurpose vessels are a natural development in a market characterised by pricey secondhand units.
Capital has up to eight PSVs and two MPSVs on order at Fujian Mawei Shipbuilding in China, while a compatriot has ordered up to 10 MPSVs at Singapore’s PaxOcean in deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Fearnley also noted high-end subsea newbuilding orders placed by Norwegian players Agalas and Eidesvik, Rem Offshore, Island Offshore, Ostensjo Rederi and Norwind.
The brokerage said: “We do not see this as a threat to the market balance as of today, however, as demand is likely to exceed the incremental fleet additions by the time these units are ready for trading.
“Moreover, we also see this as a natural development in the market given the current valuations and asking prices observed in the subsea space, where owners of high-quality tonnage demand a significant premium in order to let go of their assets,” the company added.
Fearnley also noted that most owners have now completed financial restructurings and are not in a position where divestments are required.
This is because recent charter contracts are pushing all-time highs in some segments.
“Subsequently, newbuilds offer attractive entry prices, especially those placed at Asian yards,” the Norwegian shop said.
Fearnley said the summer months have seen a mix of single-asset transactions, fleet sales and confirmed newbuildings across the offshore support vessel space.
“However, the volume of sale-and-purchase activity we saw in 2022 and 2023 has softened significantly, which is as expected with the rapidly increasing prices observed in recent quarters,” the company explained.
