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In Down Market, More Offshore Firms Look to Wind

Wind
File image courtesy Ulstein

Published Feb 10, 2016 8:38 PM by The Maritime Executive

Norwegian offshore supply operator Eidesvik Offshore has become the latest offshore oil and gas services firm to diversify into offshore wind contracts.

The company has recently chartered its Bahamas-flagged subsea construction and support vessel Acergy Viking to Siemens Wind Power on a nine-month contract. She will be used as an accommodation and service ship for offshore wind services in German waters, Eidesvik says.

The Viking has a 100-ton crane, an ROV-ready back deck, and accommodations for 20 crewmembers and 40 project staff. She will deploy later this year following a mobilization program, including the installation of a gangway system.

The contract is Eidesvik's first in the wind market, though the firm has been looking at diversifying in this direction for some time.

“I am pleased . . . that we now will enter a new business segment with one of our existing Subsea vessels,” said Eidesvik CEO Jan Fredrik Meling.

The OSV market has contracted dramatically with falling oil prices and rig counts, and other offshore oil and gas supply and construction companies have begun competing for offshore wind contracts in recent months. Pressure to find new revenue is high: Clarksons recently estimated that some 500 offshore vessels are laid up worldwide, and marine brokerage M3 Marine estimates that OSV day rates are down by about 40 to 60 percent. Rig forecasts are also down, suggesting low demand for an extended period. For a small but growing number of operators, offshore wind offers a way to pull idle vessels out of layup and put highly-trained crews back to work – or to diversify by ordering purpose-built wind farm service ships in a depressed shipbuilding market. 

Other offshore firms with a new presence in the wind industry include Ocean Installer, Østensjø Rederi and Bibby Marine Services. And some – such as Singapore's EMAS – have included both subsea oil and gas and offshore wind projects in their portfolios for some time, giving them a diverse income stream in a time of economic uncertainty.