Solstad Offshore has found work for six ships outside the collapsed North Sea spot market.
The Norwegian offshore vessel owner announced multiple contracts for five platform supply vessels (PSVs) and an anchor-handling tug supply ship (AHTS) lasting for between 80 and 170 days.
The company has not named the clients. It said the charters will begin around 1 July.
Chief executive Lars Peder Solstad told TradeWinds he could not give details of where the ships will operate under the contracts, but he said they will carry out normal supply and anchor-handling duties.
Going where the work is
Asked if the moves were deliberately designed to move ships out of the dire North Sea spot market, he said: "We are chasing opportunities regardless of where they are. The spot market is horrible."
The first of the PSVs is the 4,700-dwt Normand Supra (built 2014), which has had no spot job listed since November. It is moored in Norway.
The 4,700-dwt PSV Normand Surfer (built 2014) is already outside the North Sea, underway in the Adriatic on Monday, while the 5,900-dwt Normand Serenade (built 2009) is in Norway, with its last last fixture reported as having been booked in mid-March.
The 4,000-dwt Normand Sitella (built 2013) is also moored in Norway and has reportedly been without work since the start of December, while the 4,500-dwt Sea Spear (built 2015) is moored in Aberdeen, and has not been fixed since the middle of February.
Finally, the 21,457-bhp AHTS Far Sigma (built 2014) is sitting prompt in Bergen. Norwegian broker Westshore reported it as fixed on 27 April by Ross Offshore for a two-week rig move at NOK 70,000 ($6,700) per day, however.
Spot exposure cut
"The contracts will significantly reduce the company's North Sea spot market exposure in 2020," Solstad said.
The market there has been hit by coronavirus restrictions and the oil price plunge.
The last reported PSV fixture was concluded at just £3,000 ($3,700) per day, as bad as anything seen in the last crash in 2014.
Norwegian broker Westshore has utilisation for PSVs at 55%, with 20 out of 34 working ships without jobs in the UK alone.
Solstad has not yet joined the rush to lay up vessels since the coronavirus crisis began, however.
Last month, the offshore vessel player said banks and bondholders were taking over at the company as part of a $946m debt deal.
The world's biggest owner of high-end offshore support vessels (OSVs) said the converted debt will constitute at least 65% to 75% of the equity if a final deal is signed.
The new owners of the company will then look to sell or scrap 37 ships to leave a core fleet of 90 units.
Solstad has been working to secure a vital refinancing deal with creditors since 2018, as it faced an ongoing liquidity crunch in the offshore downturn.
The company said last week that "some additional time will be required to conclude an agreement among all required stakeholders."
Debt standstill deals have been extended to 8 May by all but one of the creditors.
