Spot rates for North Sea anchor-handling tug supply ships were capped in September as a handful of vessels nabbed their last contracts before heading south, Hagland Shipbrokers said.
The Norwegian offshore broker said in its monthly report that a half dozen AHTS vessels were set to depart the region in the last three months of 2023, keeping the spot market softer for the month — but it also noted not enough vessels were leaving to supercharge rates.
“There has been a reasonable amount of activity,” Hagland said of the AHTS market.
“Rates continue to be somewhat suppressed by the fact that a handful of vessels are soon exiting the region and therefore keen to get that little bit more utilisation before departing southward.”
It said the 14,888-bhp Maersk Tracker (built in 2009) had already left the North Sea for West Africa, and six others would join it.
Of the six, five are chartered by Ocean Installer and in the fleet of Solstad Offshore: the 31,637-bhp Normand Prosper (built 2010), the 27,871-bhp Normand Sapphire (built 2007), 21,457-bhp Normand Sigma (built 2014), the 31,637-bhp Normand Drott (built 2010) and the 21,457-bhp Normand Sirius (built 2014).
“Although a handful of vessels will exit the Norwegian AHTS market, we still expect there to be vessels to choose from for the charterers looking ahead to their upcoming rig moves,” Hagland said.
“For the remainder of the year, we expect activity levels to remain like that seen in the last two months, although keep in mind that each rig move may take longer due to weather delays.”
The broker said AHTS utilisation on both sides of the North Sea was a tick over 50% in September.
The figure is higher than last year for Norway when utilisation dropped below 50%, but lower in the UK, when the rate was near 60%.
In the UK, some fixtures late in September pushed north of £70,000 ($84,909) per day, although the average rate was much lower at £30,000 per day, Hagland said.
Competition was “much tougher” in Norway, where the average rate was NOK 255,000 ($23,325) per day.
PSVs stay strong
Hagland said spot rates for North Sea platform supply vessels remained relatively high for the month ahead of colder temperatures and a drop in demand.
In Norway, charterers could find vessels, but on average at NOK 275,000 per day, the broker said.
It added that rates were in line with previous months but arguably high, given the rates seen over the last decade.
In the UK, vessels were available, and fixtures were down, but rates held strong, ranging from £10,000 per day to £28,500 per day in one case with an average of £19,000 per day.
