Fincantieri Inks Order for Five Walk-to-Work Vessels for Offshore O&G

Fincantieri subsidiary Vard has won a contract for the construction of five walk-to-work offshore service vessels for the oil and gas industry - a change from years past, when the offshore wind industry was the primary customer base for this specialty segment. 

"We are very pleased to further consolidate our role as a trusted partner and leader in the specialized vessels sector, an area fully aligned with our Industrial Plan for sustainable growth," said Pierroberto Folgiero, CEO and Managing Director of Fincantieri, in a statement Wednesday. "These new vessels will integrate the most advanced technologies and tailor-made solutions to ensure optimized performance and reduced fuel consumption. Another step forward in fulfilling Fincantieri’s commitment to excellence and sustainability as our order book continues to expand." 

The customer was not named, nor the price, but Fincantieri said that it was a "very important" sale valued in excess of $200 million. 

The design is based on existing VARD service vessels, and is optimized for fuel efficiency and comfort, with battery-hybrid propulsion, a motion-compensated gangway and a motion-compensated crane. Since the propulsion system has electric drives, it could later be retrofitted for other power sources, Fincantieri suggested. Unlike so many past orders in the walk-to-work service segment, these vessels are purpose-built to serve offshore platforms in the oil and gas sector, which is in the middle of a renewed boom in activity. 

All five will be built at Vard Vung Tau in Vietnam, the yard that Vard founded in 2006 during a previous offshore boom. The facility just completed an expansion program that increased its vessel production capacity by 75 percent, from four vessels a year to seven. 

Offshore oil and gas investment is taking off again in a big way, and is on track to exceed $100 billion in 2024, according to energy consultancy Rystad. Globally, offshore wells now supply the world with more oil than America's onshore shale oil sector, and drilling is expected to accelerate in frontier regions like offshore Suriname, Guyana and Namibia.