Noble Sells Off Two Relatively Young Drillships for Possible Scrapping

 

Noble Drilling has decided to decommission two relatively young, cold-stacked drillships, remnants of the idle fleet that accumulated in the Canary Islands during the offshore downturn of the mid-2010s. 

The vessels named for possible demolition sale are Pacific Meltem (built 2014) and Pacific Scirocco (built 2011), both constructed by Samsung for the former Pacific Drilling fleet. They are rated to 12,000 feet of water depth, and both are anchored at Las Palmas. 

Noble acquired Pacific Drilling in 2021, followed by Diamond Drilling in 2024. The wave of consolidation left Noble with 28 floaters, including 14 7th-generation drillships. While Meltem and Scirocco are comparatively young in ship years (11 and 14 respectively), they have been in storage for a long time; Noble has decided to divest of both in order to eliminate the cost of upkeep.

The sale will ensure the retirement of both ships from the drilling market, including the possibility of scrapping. 

"Our decision to retire these non-contributing assets is based on a continuous cost-benefit evaluation of idle capacity. These retirements will be immediately cash flow accretive and result in a leaner, fitter fleet composition for Noble going forward," said Robert W. Eifler, President and CEO of Noble.