Offshore Support Journal June 2016 by rivieramaritimemedia

June 2016 www.osjonline.com

Cablelay ship combines capacity with workability

Oil spill response guide focuses on ice and cold conditions Grupo TMM optimistic in the long-term despite short-term concerns

â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have bigger problems than the oil price. There is no discipline in our industry about taking older vessels out of the marketâ&#x20AC;? Mike Meade, founder and chief executive, M3 Marine Group, see page 24

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contents

June 2016

volume 19 issue 5

39 12

Regulars 5 COMMENT 7 BEST OF THE WEB 8 VESSEL NEWS 40 ROV/AUV 42 COMPANY NEWS 43 PEOPLE NEWS 45 IMCA NEWS

Area reports

10 Caspian/Mediterranean: eastern Mediterranean gas developments underwrite the promise of long-term demand for offshore support vessels in the region 12 Mexico: Grupo TMM, the well known operator of tankers and offshore support vessels, says it is making progress reducing costs, strengthening its balance sheet and diversifying 15 Gulf of Mexico: US secretary of the interior Sally Jewell and the director of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) Brian Salerno have unveiled new well control regulations 16 North Sea: owners are taking a few vessels out of layup 18 Brazil: Wilson, Sons is managing to survive the downturn better than some 23 West Africa: Italian oil major Eni is developing a series of deepwater offshore oil fields in Ghana and Angola through networks of subsea systems and FPSO vessels 24 Southeast Asia: speakers at a recent conference in Singapore proposed scrapping as one way to address the downturn in the market, but not everyone agrees 25 Middle East: vessel operators and offshore engineering contractors have secured contracts in Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia and Qatar

Dynamic positioning

26 GE has revamped its SeaStream DP user interfaces, with the assistance of US vessel owner Hornbeck Offshore Services, to make them more intuitive

Bulk handling/tank cleaning 29 Statoil, which says it has been looking for a way to make tank cleaning on offshore supply vessels safer and more effective, has awarded a contract to M-I SWACO to develop a new solution

Propulsion 30 Working with Newcastle University and GulfMark Offshore, UK-based Royston has proved the concept of an â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;auto-modeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; detection capability for its enginei fuel management system for more accurate monitoring of fuel consumption and vessel emissions

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Offshore Support Journal | June 2016

contents Propulsion 31 Thruster manufacturers are investing in new production facilities and in distributors

Oil spill response 32 The growing body of literature looking at oil spill response in the Arctic, iceprone regions and cold climates has been supplemented by an in-depth report on the subject from the IMO

Turkish shipbuilding 35 Turkish yards’ links with Norway could help them ride out the recession in the OSV industry

Spanish shipbuilding 36 The latest vessel to be delivered by Astilleros Balenciaga is Grampian Fortress – the first of a pair of IMT 958 emergency response and rescue vessels for North Star Shipping

Recent deliveries 39 Siem Aimery was designed to lay cable in adverse weather conditions

Safety flashes 46 The International Marine Contractors Association has highlighted the issue of mosquito-borne diseases

Safety alerts 47 PSV involved in near miss whilst on location; casing incident

Market data 48 Statistics 51 VesselsValue

Next issue Main features include: Main area reports: Brazil, North Sea & Caribbean; Offshore accommodation; Ports and logistics; Communication; Repair and conversion; Heavy-lift vessels; Pipelay/cablelay vessels

Front cover: Siem Offshore recently took delivery of Siem Aimery, a unique cablelay vessel designed for operations in adverse weather conditions (photo: Siem Offshore)

June 2016 volume 19 issue 5 Editor: David Foxwell t: +44 1252 717 898 e: david.foxwell@rivieramm.com Deputy Editor: Martyn Wingrove t: +44 20 8370 1736 e: martyn.wingrove@rivieramm.com Brand Manager – Sales: Ian Glen t: +44 7919 263 737 e: ian.glen@rivieramm.com Sales: Indrit Kruja t: +44 20 8370 7792 e: indrit.kruja@rivieramm.com James Bentley t: +44 20 8370 7791 e: james.bentley@rivieramm.com Colin Deed t: +44 1239 612384 e: colin.deed@rivieramm.com Head of Sales – Asia & Singapore: Kym Tan t: +65 9456 3165 e: kym.tan@rivieramm.com Sales – Asia & Middle East: Rigzin Angdu t: +65 6809 3198 e: rigzin.angdu@rivieramm.com Sales – Southeast Asia & Australasia: Kaara Barbour t: +61 414 436 808 e: kaara.barbour@rivieramm.com Production Manager: Ram Mahbubani t: +44 20 8370 7010 e: ram.mahbubani@rivieramm.com Chairman: John Labdon Managing Director: Steve Labdon Finance Director: Cathy Labdon Operations Director: Graham Harman Editorial Director: Steve Matthews Executive Editor: Paul Gunton Head of Production: Hamish Dickie Subscriptions: Sally Church Published by: Riviera Maritime Media Ltd Mitre House 66 Abbey Road Enfield EN1 2QN UK

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Subscribe from just £299 Subscribe now and receive ten issues of Offshore Support Journal every year and get even more: • supplements: Annual Offshore Support Journal Conference & Awards, Guide to Dynamic Positioning*, Guide to OSV Shipbuilders, Guide to OSV Propulsion*, Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders and Arctic & Ice-Class Vessels* • access the latest issue content via your digital device • free industry yearplanner including key dates • access to www.osjonline.com and its searchable archive. Subscribe online: www.osjonline.com (*published every two years)

Offshore Support Journal | June 2016

Disclaimer: Although every effort has been made to ensure that the information in this publication is correct, the Author and Publisher accept no liability to any party for any inaccuracies that may occur. Any third party material included with the publication is supplied in good faith and the Publisher accepts no liability in respect of content. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, reprinted or stored in any electronic medium or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission of the copyright owner.

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COMMENT | 5

THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN’

David Foxwell, Editor

“The IOCs have been able to survive over the last quarter of a century, but signs that their business model is faltering have recently begun to show” Professor Paul Stevens

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xcuse the use of the title of a Bob Dylan song, but things really are changing in the oil and gas industry, and the ‘old order’ is, quite literally, being swept away. Some of you will already have read that Saudi Arabia’s oil minister, Ali Al-Naimi, has been replaced by Khalid Al-Falih, the director of the state oil company Saudi Aramco. As the longeststanding OPEC oil minister, Al-Naimi had played a key role shaping his country’s energy policy since 1995 and was long regarded as the world’s most powerful oilman. However, as Commerzbank Research noted recently, his influence had diminished hugely because his abrupt change in strategy in 2014 did not bear fruit as hoped. Days earlier, Muhammad bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s deputy crown prince, had unveiled a string of commitments to end the kingdom’s dependence on oil. A sea change is happening in fossil fuel and energy markets: 2016 could come to be seen as the year when the old order gave way. For those of us active in these industries, whether you work for an oil company or a company in the supply chain, now is the time to chart a new course. The offshore oil and gas sector has a long future ahead of it, but changes taking place at global level will mean a bumpy ride for the supply chain for some time to come. As Professor Paul Stevens, a distinguished fellow in energy, environment and resources at UK think tank Chatham House noted recently, international oil companies (IOCs) are faced with the choice of managing a gentle decline by downsizing or, potentially, risking a rapid collapse by trying to carry on business as usual. Professor Stevens believes that the future of the major international oil companies is in doubt. The business model that sustained them during the 20th century is no longer fit for purpose, he says. “Most commentary on the IOCs’ problems has focused on the recent fall in oil prices and the growing global commitment to tackle climate change,” he said. “Important though these are, the source of their predicament is not confined to such recent developments over which they have no control. Their problems are more numerous, run deeper and go back further. The prognosis for the IOCs was already grim before governments

became serious about climate change and the oil price collapsed,” the professor said in a research paper. “The IOCs have been able to survive over the last quarter of a century, but signs that their business model is faltering have recently begun to show. As well as poor financial performance, the symptoms include growing shareholder disillusion with a business model rooted in assumptions of ever-growing oil demand, oil scarcity and the need to increase bookable reserves, all of which increasingly lack validity.” Professor Stevens says there are options that might allow the IOCs to improve their situation: squeezing costs in the hope oil prices will revive; more mega-mergers; ‘playing vultures’ with remnants of the US shale gas revolution; reshuffling their portfolios; diversification; and rebuilding inhouse technology. “In particular, the IOCs cannot assume that, as in the past, all they need to do to survive is to wait for crude prices to resume an upward direction. The oil market is going through fundamental structural changes driven by a technological revolution and geopolitical shifts. The old cycle of lower prices followed by higher prices is no longer applicable,” said Professor Stevens. This kind of profound change is already having far-reaching consequences for the supply chain serving every oil company. How will you adapt to the challenges facing oil companies and your company? These challenges are especially acute for the supply chain servicing high cost operations, such as deepwater offshore oil and gas, and mature expensive producing regions such as the North Sea. Fortunately, in the North Sea at least, hope could be at hand in the form of an industry that is growing rapidly and in which offshore expertise is increasingly sought after. For more details, see the comment by Richard Benzie, technical director at the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA), on page 45, in which he notes that more and more (IMCA) members are working in the renewables sector, and the profile in the forthcoming Second Quarter 2016 issue of our sister publication, Offshore Wind Journal, in which Maf Smith, RenewableUK’s deputy chief executive, states his view that the workforce in offshore oil and gas and offshore wind increasingly will become a shared one. OSJ

Offshore Support Journal | June 2016

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BEST OF THE WEB | 7

BEST OF THE WEB

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Subsea 7 hit by downturn in demand for Surf projects Jean Cahuzac, chief executive officer of Subsea 7, says the company’s performance in the first quarter of 2016 benefited from good project execution but was affected by the downturn in demand for subsea umbilicals, risers and flowlines (Surf) projects. “Reported revenue was US$746 million in the first quarter 2016, 37 per cent lower than the prior year period, due to the reduction of Surf project activity worldwide,” he said. “Adjusted EBITDA was US$284 million with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 38 per cent, which was significantly higher than 2015 despite the lower revenues. This performance benefited from good project execution overall and successful risk mitigation measures on projects that were nearing completion. It also reflected the impact of the group’s cost reduction and resizing plan that was implemented in 2015.” Subsea 7 said the outlook “remains challenging”, and the

timing of new contract awards is still uncertain as clients continue to postpone capital investment decisions in the current market environment. Subsea 7 is successfully working with clients and alliance partners to drive down the costs of development with innovative and cost-effective solutions that will enable more projects to progress despite the low oil price. Full-year 2016 revenue is expected to be significantly lower than in 2015, and adjusted EBITDA percentage margin is expected to be lower compared to 2015. “In this context, additional cost-reduction measures will be implemented during the year,” said the company, noting that the fundamental long-term outlook for subsea field developments remains positive and industry activity is expected to improve when the oil and gas markets rebalance.

Østensjø and Solstad become shareholders as Reach Subsea restructures

Viking Supply Ships reaches agreement in principle with its banks

Reach Subsea in Norway has agreed a comprehensive restructuring of its charter agreements, which it says will enable it to move forward with market-based chartering rates. As part of the restructuring, offshore vessel owners Solstad Offshore and Østensjø Rederi – from whom Reach Subsea charters vessels – will become shareholders in the company. “Although the details of the agreement are confidential between the parties, we can convey that Reach Subsea will be well equipped to handle a prolonged period of weak market conditions,” the company said. “A significant reduction

in charter commitments will provide Reach with a competitive and flexible total cost base. Reach Subsea is now positioned to exploit opportunities in the market and create shareholder value.” Reach Subsea chief executive Jostein Alendal said, “We are pleased to have achieved a mutually acceptable solution that is adapted to the current market climate. This will enable Reach to continue working with shipowners known for quality and reliability. We are now equipped to face a prolonged period of poor markets.” http://bit.ly/OSJ-Reach

Solstad Offshore has a shareholding in Reach Subsea as a result of the restructuring

http://bit.ly/OSJ-SUb7

Viking Supply Ships looks to have secured its future

Viking Supply Ships, which has been in negotiation with its creditors and shareholders regarding long-term financing for the company, says the situation is challenging but the dialogue is “constructive” and it has reached an agreement in principle with its banks. The agreement is subject to credit committee approval and other customary conditions. http://bit.ly/OSJ-VikingSS

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Offshore Support Journal | June 2016

8 | VESSEL NEWS

Ulstein launches its first SOV for offshore wind industry

Bernhard Schulte Offshore’s new SOVs are among the first to have the Ulstein X-BOW and X-STERN

Ulstein Verft in Norway has launched its first service operation vessel (SOV) for the offshore wind industry. The company – which has a long history of designing and building vessels for the offshore oil and gas industry – is building the vessel for Bernhard Schulte Offshore. Along with a sister vessel of the same type, it will work for Siemens once delivered. The first vessel will be used to service the Gemini offshore windfarm in The Netherlands. Both vessels are based on the SX175 design from Ulstein, which has the now-famous Ulstein X-BOW and the newly developed X-STERN hullform. The Norwegian group claims these features will enhance their seakeeping characteristics when positioned alongside a wind turbine to transfer service technicians from the vessel over a heave compensated gangway.

Vroon subsea vessel starts work in offshore wind sector Vroon Offshore has taken delivery of a new subsea support vessel (SSV), VOS Sugar, which has started work in the offshore wind sector rather than the offshore oil and gas industry. VOS Sugar was formally named in a ceremony on 21 April in IJmuiden in The Netherlands and is a DP2, SPS-classed, 68m subsea support vessel and one of two

newbuilding SSVs to have been constructed at Fujian Southeast Shipbuilding in China. Following installation of an active heave compensated crane, the ship is now ready to start its first charter for NDE, for whom it will undertake dive operations and maintenance work on turbine foundations on an offshore windfarm in German waters.

Cintranaval-designed dive/ maintenance vessels delivered

terminals; assistance to jackup barges and rig moves; external firefighting; supply services to drilling platforms; anchor handling; rescue and standby operations. They have conventional propulsion consisting of two shaftlines driving two controllable pitch propellers in nozzles. With an open stern and ample visibility from the bridge, the design meets criteria for maximum safety

Cintranaval, the well-known Spanish ship designer of tugs and offshore vessels, was responsible for the design of two 50m dive maintenance and support vessels recently delivered by Grandweld to Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC). Both vessels, Tawam 1 and Remah 1, will be operated in the Mubaraz oilfield by Abu Dhabi Petroleum Ports Operating Co (IRSHAD), the joint-venture between ADNOC and Lamnalco. Both vessels were designed to operate in shallow water, achieving a minimum of 60 tonnes bollard pull and a speed of 13 knots. This operational

Offshore Support Journal | June 2016

limitation was the main design challenge, making generation and optimisation of the hull lines of great importance. The structural design has been optimised to minimise weight and meet the draught requirements of the owner. The new vessels can accommodate 30 people and are fitted with integrated diving systems. They were also designed for the following operations: terminal duties for mooring line and flexible hose handling; transfer of personnel between platforms and land or other vessels; assistance in the berthing and unberthing operations at loading

and efficiency in operations. Tawam 1, a CND-12149 design, is also equipped for towing and anchor handling operations and can stow reefer containers on deck. Remah 1, a CND-12148 design, has class 2 dynamic positioning to provide a stable platform and maintain position for diving operations. It also has a powerful electrohydraulic hammerhead to support these operations. OSJ

Remah 1 is a CND-12148 design and has class 2 dynamic positioning

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10 | AREA REPORT Caspian/Mediterranean

Israeli and Egyptian projects

driving OSV demand T

here is the potential for more offshore support vessel charters to be contracted for East Mediterranean deepwater gas projects, but only if some of the political challenges can be overcome. Noble Energy is still hopeful that it will be able to develop the giant Leviathan gas field offshore Israel within the next three years. However, government regulators and courts in the country have been arguing about how to administer the huge gas project. Noble Energy said in early May that it was making progress on some aspects of the Leviathan project, but the development was being held up by Israel’s Supreme Court decisions and arguments over the government’s natural gas regulatory framework. The court blocked the government’s proposal to regulate the natural gas industry by objecting to a stability cause, which would facilitate offshore investment. This block is delaying development of Leviathan, which Noble Energy wanted to be in production by 2019. The US company, along with Israeli partners such as Delek, was planning to install subsea systems in deep waters and subsea pipelines linking these to a fixed platform in shallow water. Another set of subsea pipelines would link the platform to shore. The development would require the services of at least one deepwater drillship or semi-submersible drilling rig, plus subsea construction vessels, pipelayer,

Eastern Mediterranean gas developments underwrite the promise for long-term demand for offshore support vessels in the region by Martyn Wingrove

supply vessels, anchor handlers, and other associated vessels. Any contracts for these is awaiting formal approval of the project. Despite the political setback, Noble has commenced marketing of the natural gas from the Leviathan field to Israeli domestic customers. It has signed one gas sales contract and has others under negotiation. It is also in discussion with regional export customers to pipe the gas outside of Israel. Noble said it had resubmitted the initial field development plan for Leviathan to the government, which includes a fixed and expanded platform design. The national planning committee recently approved the locations of the Leviathan platform and pipeline connection in northern Israel.

Noble has already reacted to anti-trust regulation in Israel by selling its stake in the undeveloped Tanin and Karish offshore gas fields in Israel. It also reduced its interest in exploration block 12 in Cyprus by introducing Shell subsidiary BG Group. Noble received around US$200 million in total proceeds from these sales. Block 12 holds the deepwater Aphrodite gas discovery, which is under evaluation for development. Current plans involve subsea systems linked to a floating production unit. If this goes ahead, there would be another round of vessel contracts. The future of offshore vessel demand is more certain in Egypt, where Eni and BP recently announced large deepwater gas projects. Eni plans to develop the Zohr field in the Shorouk concession using subsea systems tied back to existing infrastructure. It will be using contractors Petrojet, Enppi and Saipem on the project. Eni chief executive Claudio Descalzi emphasised the importance of the project when he said: “We strengthened the foundations for future growth as we took the final investment decision for the development of the giant Zohr gas field.” Offshore construction work is set to begin in 2017 and continue in 2018 and 2019 using a pipelayer and a host of subsea construction support vessels, as well as vessels supporting a deepwater drilling rig. Also this year, BP agreed to develop the Giza, Fayoum and Raven gas fields in the West Nile Delta block offshore Alexandria.

EAST MEDITERRANEAN OFFSHORE PROJECTS PROJECT

COUNTRY

OPERATOR

DEVELOPMENT TYPE

ONSTREAM DATE

Israel

Noble

Subsea to platform

2019

Israel

Noble

Subsea to platform

2017

Cyprus

Shell

Subsea to floater

2020

Leviathan Tamar Ph II Aphrodite West Nile Delta

Egypt

Subsea to onshore

2018

Zohr

Egypt

Eni

Subsea to onshore

2018

Offshore Support Journal | June 2016

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Caspian/Mediterranean AREA REPORT | 11

www.osjonline.com

KEY

Aphrodite

TURKEY

Leviathan

Tamar Ph II West Nile Delta

Zohr

SYRIA

U PR

BA N

It contracted Subsea 7 for installation of the subsea systems and pipelines. The workscope includes installing subsea infrastructure for 12 wells over the three fields, as well as 220km of pipelines and 80km of umbilicals. The contract also includes installation of the export pipelines from the subsea centres to the Idku terminal. Offshore work is scheduled to be undertaken in two stages, with the first is due to begin in 2017. This will involve installation of pipelines to the terminal in shallow water. The second stage will incorporate the deepwater pipelines, flowlines and umbilicals in 2018. Seven Borealis and Seven Antares will be used for the pipelay, while heavy construction vessel Normand Oceanic will be employed for other construction activities. These successes have encouraged the Egyptian authorities to begin a new exploration concession bid round. This will involve 28 blocks, some of which are located in the Gulf of Suez and Red Sea. Saipem has gained more work concerning projects in the Eastern Mediterranean. The Italian offshore contractor has signed a memorandum of understanding with DESFA, the national natural gas system operator in Greece. These organisations will co-operate in offshore gas projects in the region. These would include subsea field developments, pipeline systems, export infrastructures, offshore fixed facilities, receiving terminals, as well as maritime work for LNG terminals and floating LNG plant. This would make the group a key contractor of offshore support vessels for future projects in the region. Saipem has already picked up a key pipeline project in the region. It gained an order for engineering, procurement, construction and installation of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline that will run from Albania to Puglia in Italy. A joint venture involving BP, Snam, Fluxys, Enagรกs and Axpo are building the pipeline to pump Caspian gas to southern Europe. For this contract, Saipem will conduct marine surveys, then install a 36in, 105km offshore gas line, and an offshore fibre optic cable, across the Adriatic. It will use semi-submersible pipelay vessel Castoro Sei and trench/pipelay barge Castoro 10 during this year to install the pipeline and fibre optic cable. In Italy, offshore developments and vessel demand has been hit by the government reactivating an offshore drilling restrictions. This has halted any drive to drill within 12 nautical miles from the coast. This has led to

ISRAEL

JORDAN

EGYPT Major deepwater gas projects in the Eastern Mediterranean

Rockhopper Exploration cancelling its proposed Ombrina Mare offshore oil project, which is around six miles off the coast. The government told Rockhopper that the production concession covering Ombrina Mare would not be awarded. Now the company is considering claiming compensation, but this will not help vessel owners who were hoping to gain fresh charters for the project. Rockhopper is working with Eni on the existing Guendalina gas field in the northern Adriatic and on an offshore block in Croatia, where it is looking to appraise the Ksenija discovery and the Klaudija prospect. Rockhopper expects to conduct seismic surveys over the block this year and eventually an exploration well within three

years. Eni is expanding its operations to offshore Morocco as it has joined Chariot Oil & Gas to drill in the Rabat Deep Offshore exploration permit. This should facilitate chartering a drilling rig and associated support vessels. In the Black Sea, French oil major Total is drilling for gas resources in Bulgaria. It has sublet drillship Noble Globetrotter II from Shell and contracted three Global Offshore Services-operated platform supply vessels (PSVs). Brokers said PSV Olympus was mobilised from the North Sea, while Ben Nevis and Makalu were sailed from West Africa to support the drilling project. Shell has already discovered a large gas resource, which it is planning to further evaluate. OSJ

Offshore Support Journal | June 2016

12 | AREA REPORT Mexico

Grupo TMM makes progress with cost cutting and balance sheet Grupo TMM, the well known operator of offshore support vessels and tankers, says it is making progress reducing costs, strengthening its balance sheet and diversifying

Like many operators of offshore support vessels, Grupo TMM is reducing costs and scaling back expenditure

espite the downturn in the offshore oil and gas sector as a whole, Grupo TMM in Mexico says it remains optimistic in the long-term, partly as a result of the energy reforms in Mexico, which are expected to create opportunities for companies like it. In the short-term, it is focused on cost reduction. Announcing its first-quarter 2016 results, Grupo TMM said it had revenues of US$838.3 million, an increase of 17.5 per cent year on year. The company had a consolidated EBITDA of $293.1 million, an increase of 13.9 per cent, free cash flow of US$119.1 million and fleet utilisation of 85.8 per cent. José F Serrano, chairman and chief executive officer of Grupo TMM, said, “Oil industry conditions and prices have forced Pemex (Mexico’s state oil company) to reduce its budget, affecting all industry participants in Mexico. However, Grupo TMM continues to focus on strategies to reduce costs, develop new projects that will diversify its investments, strengthen its balance sheet and implement mechanisms to mitigate liquidity risks amid the current market situation. We believe the oil industry will stabilise in the long-term, enabling an improvement in the domestic market.”

Offshore Support Journal | June 2016

Grupo TMM is one of the largest integrated logistics and transportation companies in Mexico, providing specialised maritime services, ports and terminals management and integrated logistics services to international and domestic clients throughout Mexico. Its offshore vessels, which operate primarily in the Bay of Campeche, transport dry and liquid cargo from port terminals to offshore facilities. It operates anchor-handling tug/supply vessels, fire-fighting vessels, four-point mooring vessels and crewboats. The company also offers shipyard and warehousing services in the region. Compared to the same period last year, first-quarter 2016 maritime revenues grew 18.2 per cent, or US$114.2 million, due mainly to higher revenues from the group’s product tankers and chemical tankers, which saw improved average freight rates, and improvements in the group’s offshore business. Comparing the 2016 first quarter with the same period of 2015, maritime operating profit increased 44.0 per cent from US$127.8 million to US$184.1 million, mainly attributable to higher revenues in all businesses, particularly product tankers (US$52.1 million due to better utilisation) and chemical tankers (US$10.2 million from improved average freight rates). However, these improvements were partially offset by higher costs in the offshore segment. First-quarter 2016 maritime EBITDA increased 20.4 per cent to US$336.5 million compared to US$279.5 million in the same period of 2015. First-quarter 2016 EBITDA margin was 45.3 per cent. Ports and terminals revenues increased 15.7 percent, or $77.3 million, in the 2016 first quarter over the same period of 2015, primarily attributable to higher revenues in Tampico due to an increase in steel volume, in agencies due to improved average rates, as well as at maintenance and repair operations due to higher volumes of containers. The operating profit at Grupo TMM’s ports and terminals division increased 20.9 per cent in the first quarter year on year, to US$14.3 million from US$11.8 million in the same period in 2015, primarily as a result of improved results in agencies due to higher average rates as well as an increase in volume at the Tampico terminal. Ports and terminals EBITDA increased 11.4 per cent to US$17.4 million in the first quarter of 2016 compared to the same period of 2015. First-quarter 2016 ports and terminals EBITDA was 22.5 per cent. As of 31 March 2016, TMM’s total net debt was US$9,823.6 million. Of its total debt, US$524.6 million, or 4.9 per cent, is short-term. The company recently appointed a new chief financial officer, Benjamin Ampudia Alvarez, who replaced Carlos Pedro Aguilar Mendez, who will continue to serve on the board of the company. Mr Alvarez has over 18 years of experience. Before joining Grupo TMM, he served for 11 years as infrastructure finance and corporate banking director for Scotiabank in Mexico, where he participated in various transactions for local and international clients, mainly in the oil and gas, automotive and financial industries, as well as in the public sector. OSJ

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Gulf of Mexico AREA REPORT | 15

INTERIOR DEPARTMENT RELEASES WELL CONTROL REGULATIONS

esigned to reduce the risk of an offshore oil or gas blowout that could result in the loss of life, serious injuries or substantial harm to the environment, the regulations represent one of the most significant safety and environmental protection reforms the Interior Department has undertaken since the Deepwater Horizon incident, when lives were lost and a vast oil spill created, and build upon a number of reforms instituted over the last six years to strengthen and modernise offshore energy standards and oversight. “The well control rule is a vital part of our extensive reform agenda to strengthen, update and modernise our offshore energy programme using lessons learned from Deepwater Horizon,” said Secretary Jewell. “I applaud BSEE for their work to develop a rule that takes into consideration an intensive analysis of the causes of the tragedy, advances in industry standards, best practices, as well as an unprecedented level of stakeholder outreach.” The regulations build upon findings and recommendations from several investigations and reports concerning the root causes of Deepwater Horizon and extensive consultation with industry groups, equipment manufacturers, federal agencies, academia and environmental organisations. The final rule is a comprehensive regulation addressing all dimensions of well control, including more stringent design requirements and operational procedures for critical well control equipment

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US SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR SALLY JEWELL AND THE DIRECTOR OF THE BUREAU OF SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENFORCEMENT BRIAN SALERNO HAVE UNVEILED NEW WELL CONTROL REGULATIONS

used in oil and gas operations on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). Specifically, the final rule addresses the full range of systems and equipment related to well control operations, with a focus on blowout preventer requirements, well design, well control casing, cementing, real-time monitoring and subsea containment. The measures are designed to improve equipment reliability, especially for blowout preventers and blowout prevention technologies. The rule requires operability of equipment through rigorous testing and provides for the continuous oversight of operations, all with the goal of improving the reliability of equipment and systems to protect workers’ lives and the environment from the potentially devastating effects of blowouts and offshore oil spills. The regulations combine prescriptive and performancebased measures to ensure that oil and gas companies and offshore rig operators are cultivating a greater culture of safety that minimises risk. Key features of the rule include requirements for blowout preventer systems, double shear rams, third-party reviews of equipment, real-time monitoring data, safe drilling margins, centralisers, inspection intervals and other reforms related to well design and control,

casing, cementing and subsea containment. Based on robust, technical comments received during the rule-making process, several adjustments were made to provisions of the proposed rule that are reflected in the final version. These changes preserve stringent requirements regarding the safety drilling margin, interval testing and major inspections for blowout preventers and also incorporate criteria for alternative practices that are subject to review, justification and approval. This rule provides flexibility so that regulatory oversight keeps pace with technological changes, provided future innovations can meet the rule’s standards for safety performance. Speaking at OTC 2016, Director Salerno said the well control rule was “the culmination of years of work and bears the marks of good ideas from US Government experts, industry engineers, academics, NGOs and many other stakeholders.” Randall Luthi, president of the National Ocean Industries Association, said, “When regulations require retrofitting existing equipment or the use of new technology, it is best to have a reasonable implementation time. This was important to industry, and on that aspect, BSEE agreed

and extended many of the proposed timelines. However, the final language on the prescriptive drilling margin may not completely address valid concerns expressed by some of our members. We are just beginning to peel back the layers of this massive rule.” OSJ

The new well control regulations are a response to the Deepwater Horizon incident, when lives were lost and a vast oil spill created

Offshore Support Journal | June 2016

16 | AREA REPORT North Sea

Owners sense a little light at the end of the tunnel S

uch is the extreme nature of the downturn in the North Sea market that a number of owners have been placed under severe financial strain. The number of vessel layups and job losses continues to increase. So is there any reason for optimism for offshore support vessel (OSV) companies as the traditionally busy summer season approaches? The answer is a fairly cautious yes, on the back of some vessels coming out of long-term layup to begin long-term jobs. Deep Sea Supply’s Sea Falcon, a large platform supply vessel (PSV) built in 2013, is one of the vessels coming out of layup. Norwegian energy giant Statoil has awarded the Ulstein PX105 design vessel a supply duties contract lasting two years firm, with the option to extend the contract by three further years. The UK contract will commence in the fourth quarter of 2016, ending a period in layup for Sea Falcon that began in

For operators of platform supply vessels and anchorhandling tug/supply vessels in the North Sea, good news has been very rare in the last few months, but there seem to be a few glimmers of hope June of last year. Norway-based vessel operator Olympic Shipping has also been awarded a term contract, taking one of its anchor-handling tug/supply (AHTS) vessels out of layup. The 2006-built Olympic Octopus, a large AHTS vessel that has been in layup in Norway since November last year, will begin a contract for an undisclosed company in July lasting 12 months firm plus four options of six months each. These contract awards do not signal a return to profitable trading conditions for the North Sea OSV industry as a whole, unfortunately. Figures from IHS show that, in the first week of May 2016, 115 OSVs were still cold stacked in the North Sea.

Olympic Octopus is now out of layup, thanks to a 12-month contract with four options of six months each

Offshore Support Journal | June 2016

Positively, however, the awards do show that the cold-stacked fleet hasn’t been forgotten about, and operators are still willing to hire quality tonnage on long-term deals regardless of whether or not the vessel has been out of action for several months. In April and May, positive news also came about for OSV operators in the form of several new term contract requirements being released by major oil companies and other companies that require OSV support. Lundin Petroleum requires a PSV and AHTS vessel to support the semi-submersible drilling rig Leiv Eriksson on a drilling programme lasting three wells firm plus six wells of options. The charterer requires an AHTS vessel with a minimum 220-tonne bollard pull to carry out all duties, as well as a PSV with a minimum deck space of 850m² to carry out supply duties and a vessel to carry out standby duties. The vessels will be required from mid-June. Hurricane Exploration, meanwhile, has issued a tender for a PSV to support the semi-submersible Transocean Spitsbergen on a one-well programme lasting approximately 120 days. The job is expected to start around the middle of June. ASCO and Total also released new term contract tenders into the market, which are likely to have been filled and

the work commenced by the time this edition of OSJ goes to print. Plenty of other term charter opportunities are available for OSV operators to bid on. The problem, however, is that the bidding process will likely be very competitive, meaning that chartering companies will have the upper hand when it comes to setting day rates. Also of positive news recently has been the success of some Norwegian OSV players in agreeing deals to secure their long-term financial futures. Atlantic Offshore will sell most of its operations in a move that it says will safeguard the jobs of over 400 skilled employees. Fellow Norwegian company Viking Supply Ships, meanwhile, recently announced that it had reached a preliminary agreement with its banks regarding the longterm financing of the company. Several other companies are engaged in dialogue with their banks, in a positive approach to tackling the incredibly tough environment in which they are now operating, which they hope will secure them a strong position ahead of the market turning back in their favour in the long-term. The glimmers of positivity may well be faint. A few longterm contract awards, a couple of vessels coming out of layup and some financial deals going through may not seem like much. Any good news, however, is welcome in this beleaguered sector at present. Owners will be hoping that this slow and steady forward momentum can continue in the months to come. OSJ

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18 | AREA REPORT Brazil

WILSON, SONS THRIVING DESPITE DIFFICULT MARKET WILSON, SONS, BRAZIL’S DIVERSE SHIPPING COMPANY, HAS ADOPTED A CLEVER STRATEGY IN THE OFFSHORE SUPPORT VESSEL SECTOR IN RECENT YEARS THAT NOT ONLY ASSURES ITS SURVIVAL BUT KEEPS IT AHEAD OF THE GAME BY ROB WARD

y deciding very early on to maximise the use of its own shipyards, Estaleiros Guarujá 1 and 2, to build its own fleet of Brazilian-flagged vessels, Wilson, Sons – which operates in the offshore support vessel (OSV) sector in a joint venture with Ultratug of Chile – has managed to avoid most of the pitfalls that have beset many of its competitors in Brazil today. As the state-controlled oil giant Petrobras – under constant pressure from the Brazilian Government to back local industry and jobs – gives priority to Brazilian-flagged vessels, Wilson, Sons Ultratug managed to keep most of its vessels operating throughout last year, although this year, one vessel, Mandriao, was struggling to have its contract with Petrobras renewed. However, all in all, according to Arnaldo Calbucci, COO of offshore vessels, towage, shipyards and shipping agencies at Wilson, Sons, 2015 was a “fantastic year, results wise” despite the impact of the exchange rate (the devaluation of the Brazilian real) and the plummeting oil price. So far this year, however, there has been a more cautious approach. “So far this year, we are doing well,” Mr Calbucci told us when OSJ interviewed him in his Rio de Janeiro office. “We are working hard, and as much as possible, we are trying to reduce costs whenever we can. We are being very careful, and this is so that we will be in a stronger position for when the market recovers. Right now, though, it is impossible to say when that recovery will come.” Wilson, Sons is quoted on the São Paulo bourse, and its annual report for 2015 shows that the company reduced its overall workforce by 10 per cent and achieved efficiencies of 8 per cent in personnel costs, in Brazilian real terms, but the rest of 2016 could be tough. The CEO of Wilson, Sons, Cezar Baiao, said, “We will seek to navigate the current economic headwinds as we have done so

Offshore Support Journal | June 2016

many times during our 179 years of the company’s history.” Mr Calbucci added that there are three main issues in Brazil right now: the political and economic situation; oil industry factors, namely the price of oil; and Petrobras, politics and the oil price coming together. “The oil price is having an impact on Brazil and on the oil and offshore support vessel industry worldwide. On top of that, we have to deal with the economic, political and Petrobras problems,” said the Wilson, Sons executive. “Although we can do nothing about these three problems, we can carry out our business in a very careful manner everywhere we can. This way, we can keep the company in best shape while we wait for the recovery. The problems have been growing since the start of this year, but we had a good year last year, and our financial results for 2015 were fantastic.” Indeed, they were. Despite a very challenging market, the group as a whole did well – with EBITDA at US$168.1 million, which was up 5 per cent in dollar terms and 49.9 per cent up in real terms – but in the offshore vessel sector, Wilson, Sons Ultratug (which is part of the Chilean Von Appen shipping group) activities saw its profits rise, and operating days for its 19 vessels fell only 1.5 per cent, from 6,683 down to 6,585 days. In the context of what was happening and still is happening in Brazil these days, that is, indeed, a “fantastic result”. Most other offshore vessel operators saw their operating days plummet by between 20 per cent and 50 per cent – and many left the market. This was despite three vessels – Fragata, Gaivota and Albatroz – waiting for quite some time before Petrobras finally renewed their contracts. They now have two-year extensions, which were signed, respectively, in December of last year and January and March of this year. The original contracts for all three ended in October 2015, and

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Brazil AREA REPORT | 19

“2015 WAS A FANTASTIC YEAR RESULTS-WISE” Arnaldo Calbucci

then the usual horse-trading and price-cutting negotiations dragged on for two, three and five months respectively. On top of that, Wilson, Sons Ultratug had another vessel – Mandriao, a newbuild from Poet Shipyard in China – laid up since the end of last year. The vessel was still laid up as OSJ went to press. This was despite Wilson, Sons moving it over from a foreign flag to the Brazilian alternative register (the REB). It is now in Guanabara Bay awaiting spot business. Pardela, a sistership of Mandriao, is currently being built at the same yard and is due to be delivered by July. Another vessel, yet to be named, is due later this year. According to Mr Calbucci, who was long experience in the OSV industry in Brazil and was on the board of the Association of Brazilian Offshore Support Vessel Operators (ABEAM) from 2003 to 2011 when his Wilson, Sons colleague Luiz Gustavo Bueno Machado took over his post, Wilson, Sons will also receive two more platform supply vessels (PSVs) from its own Guarujá shipyard before 2016 is out. These were going to be PSV 4500s but have now been upgraded to PSV 5000s such is the confidence of the company that the market will pick up at some point. “By the end of this year, we will be operating 23 vessels,” said the veteran OSV executive. “That would then allow us to REB half of the tonnage of the 20 Brazilian-flagged vessels we will have in our fleet by then. So we could – if the market picks up – add 10 more ships to our fleet under the REB if we want to. Our idea is to maintain our investment levels as they are and see what will happen in the future. In the medium term, that will be our policy.” One other difficulty encountered by Wilson, Sons Ultratug over the past 20 months or so has been the difficult saga involving Varun Shipping and three vessels – the three anchor-handling tug/supply 15000 vessels Subhiksha, Sudaksha and Suvarna – for which the Brazilian company has been acting as an Empresa

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Brasileira de Navegação (EBN or Brazilian Shipping Company). Suvarna was built in 2002 and the other two in 2001, and they initially had four-year contracts with Petrobras with options for four one-year extensions added, but sources in Brazil say that proper maintenance was not carried out on the vessels, hence the withdrawal of the charter from the Brazilian oil giant. A source close to Wilson, Sons told OSJ that the relationship with Mumbai-headquartered Varun had been fraught for a couple of years now and that, early last year, the three vessels had been arrested for money and fees owed to Wilson, Sons and other companies. Petrobras froze their contracts, and they have laid at anchor in Guanabara Bay waiting for a legal resolution to these unpaid debts. “The arbitration process has been underway for nearly two years now and may be resolved this year,” said the source, “but these things are complicated and can take time. Wilson, Sons saw its fleet decline from 18 down to 15, but it is now back up to 19 and will total 23 by the year’s end, and from then on, they will nearly all be Brazilian-flagged, so the company is in a good position for the upturn when it comes.” If Wilson, Sons bolsters its fleet up to 23, the company will become the third-biggest player in the Brazilian market alongside Bravante and DOF/Norskan, but these two have far more foreignflagged vessels and are struggling to maintain Petrobras contracts, so Wilson, Sons may even find itself in second position – out of 46 OSV operators – behind only Bram Offshore (part of Edison Chouest) with 55 OSVs, according to statistics released in February 2016. The improved operating profit for Wilson, Sons Group was reflected in strong cash generation with net cash flows from operating activities for the period of US$154.5 million compared to US$118.0 million in 2014. OSJ

Offshore Support Journal | June 2016

20 | AREA REPORT Brazil

Flexible approach pays dividends In 2015, Wilson, Sons shipyard in Guarujá delivered the first remotely operated vehicle support vessel (ROV SV ) ever built in Brazil – Fugro Aquarius – and its first oil spill recovery vessel (OSRV ), plus the largest tugboat in the Brazilian market, WS Titan. Already in 2016, Wilson, Sons Guarujá shipyards (Guarujá 1 and Guarujá 2) have launched two more OSRVs worth a total of US$80million – Fernando de Noronha and Jim O’Brien – and later on this year, two more PSV 5000s are expected to be launched. They will be delivered to Wilson, Sons Ultratug, the joint venture the Brazilian company has with Chilean outfit Ultramar. “Despite being a smaller vessel in dimensions if compared to the PSVs and to the ROV SV we built in Guarujá, Jim O’Brien and Fernando de Noronha vessels had many specific requirements, such as the oil spill response system, tank heating system and explosion-proof enclosures,” said Adalberto Souza, the chief executive officer for shipyards at Wilson, Sons, whose yards are now completing two PSV 5000s. “The original project requirement was for PSVs of 4500 design. We are always a step ahead, and in this case, we were able to meet the client’s request to expand the capacity of the vessel,” said Mr Souza. Apart from the PSV 5000s, in the remainder of 2016, Wilson, Sons’ shipyards are due to deliver another OSRV to Siem Consub and five more tugs, including another tug in the Titan class. On the downside, the company has not found much third-party work over the past two years, which was its original plan. Many Brazilian and international companies are not prepared to take a risk on Brazil right now with the political and economic situations being so unstable.

OSRV delivered Despite overcapacity in the Brazilian market and a downturn in chartering by Petrobras, another oil spill recovery vessel (OSRV ) has entered the Brazilian offshore support vessel fleet. This time it is Fernando de Noronha, the second vessel that OSV operator OceanPact has received from the Wilson, Sons Shipyard in Guarujá, port of Santos, in the past year. Fernando de Noronha cost US$36 million to build and was built with 60 per cent domestic content, which pleases Petrobras and the Socialist and Nationalist-led government of Dilma Rousseff. The OSRV has a 700m boom and a floating skimmer, can handle oil of all viscosities and has radar for night-time detection of oil spills, tanks with heating and 1,050m³ of capacity for stored oil. It can operate autonomously for seven days uninterrupted and up to one month when on standby. Fernando de Noronha also has 230m2 of deck area and is able to embark fire-fighting systems with four monitors. With a length of 67.1m, Fernando de Noronha is equipped with Caterpillar engines, Rolls-Royce propulsors, an electrical package from WEG and a Kongsberg DP-1 system from Kongsberg. It has accommodation for 20 crew. The new OSRV joins Jim O’Brien in the OceanPact fleet, which now comprises 10 vessels, eight OSRVs and two PSV 1500s. OSJ

“WE ARE ALWAYS A STEP AHEAD AND IN THIS CASE WE WERE ABLE TO MEET THE CLIENT'S REQUEST TO EXPAND THE CAPACITY OF THE VESSEL” ADALBERTO SOUZA, WILSON, SONS

Among the latest deliveries from Wilson, Sons shipyards are Jim O’Brien and Fernando de Noronha, OSRVs for OceanPact

Offshore Support Journal | June 2016

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West Africa AREA REPORT | 23

ENI SET TO INVEST €20 MILLION IN AFRICA ITALIAN OIL MAJOR ENI IS DEVELOPING A SERIES OF DEEPWATER OFFSHORE OILFIELDS IN GHANA AND ANGOLA THROUGH NETWORKS OF SUBSEA SYSTEMS AND FPSO VESSELS BY MARTYN WINGROVE

talian oil major Eni has reconfirmed its commitment to charter offshore support and construction vessels in West Africa by pledging more oil field investment. Its chief executive officer Claudio Descalzi said the company would invest around €20 billion (US$22.5 billion) in Africa over the next four years. This represents around 60 per cent of the company’s global investment, emphasising the importance it places on the region. Eni’s biggest investments in West Africa are in deepwater projects in Ghana and Angola. It is benefiting from the lower contracting, drilling and oil field service costs on projects involving networks of subsea systems tied back to floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels. In Ghana, Eni operates the OCTP project, which involves development of the Sankofa Main, Sankofa East and Gye-Nyame oil fields. This incorporates a nexus of subsea wells, flowlines and umbilicals all tied back to an FPSO vessel that will be chartered from Yinson Production. Oil will be exported on tankers, and gas will be piped to shore along a new pipeline. Eni expects offshore construction work to be conducted this year and 2017, when the first oil cargo is set to be exported. DOF Subsea gained a contract from Yinson Production in April covering the mooring, installation and hook-up of the FPSO vessel in Ghana. This is expected to be underway in the fourth quarter of this year and completed in the first quarter of 2017. DOF Subsea will use subsea construction and support vessels it operates in the Atlantic fleet to perform the work. Chief executive Mons Aase said the contract, along with others elsewhere, “increases the group’s global presence and improves our market access”. He added, “This, in combination with securing

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DOF Subsea will use vessels in its Atlantic fleet to conduct FPSO vessel mooring work for Eni in Ghana

repeat business for our key clients, will be important going forward.” There could be more subsea work from Eni in the future after it gained a new exploration licence in the Tano Basin offshore Ghana. Along with Vitol and Ghana National Petroleum Corp, Eni will be able to conduct seismic surveys and drilling in the Cape Three Points Block 4 that partially surrounds the OCTP block. If it is successful in discovering oil, this could be developed using the OCTP infrastructure, Eni said. In Angola, the Italian oil major is developing the West Hub and East Hub projects in block 15/06, where it has discovered more than 850 million barrels from 24 exploration and appraisal wells. The West Hub project is producing from the Sangos and Cinguvu fields through N’Goma FPSO. It has another four fields – Mpungi, Mpungi North, Ochigufu and Vandumbu – to tie into the FPSO vessel over the next two

years. The East Hub is scheduled to come onstream in 2017 with at least 10 subsea wells tied to an FPSO vessel. The lure of charter work in West Africa was one of the reasons for Navig8 Group to acquire RK Offshore Management (RKOM), which technically manages a fleet of OSVs. It has 19 platform supply vessels and anchor handlers under commercial or technical management operating in Africa, the Middle East and the Asia Pacific region. RKOM will become a subsidiary of Navig8 Offshore and renamed RK8. Navig8 Group chief executive Nicolas Busch highlighted the operations in the Gulf of Guinea as a key benefit of the acquisition. He said, “We believe current dynamics within the exploration and production industry have created a unique opportunity for Navig8 to extend its commercial and technical services to the offshore sector, while at the same time expanding our geographical footprint to West Africa.” OSJ

Offshore Support Journal | June 2016

24 | AREA REPORT Southeast Asia

OWNERS NEED TO SCRAP VESSELS TO HELP MARKET RECOVER Speakers at a recent conference in Singapore proposed scrapping as one way to address the downturn in the market, but not everyone agrees

recovery in the offshore support vessel (OSV) market lies in the industry’s own hands, the Asia Pacific Maritime Offshore Market Analysis conference in Singapore was told. “We have bigger problems than the oil price,” M3 Marine Group founder and chief executive Mike Meade said. “The market imbalance was there before the oil price drop.” Captain Meade said that, with about 1,200–1,300 OSVs inactive out of a fleet of about 5,000 and another 500 still on order, without major scrapping, it will take at least 10 years before the market regains balance. “The problem is that there is no discipline in our business in terms of agreement about taking older vessels out of the market,” he commented. Swire Pacific Offshore commercial director Duncan Telfer said, “Owners cannot control the oil price, but we can control the fleet.” He challenged the laying up of vessels over 15 years old. “The only strategy is to recycle older vessels. Some clients now have a 15-year rule in tenders. When these older vessels come out of layup and are reactivated and recertificated, they will be 20 years old.” However, vice president of V Ships Offshore Alessandro Ciocchi said there are still a lot of older vessels in good condition. “Why should owners scrap them?” Ulstein Asia managing director Gunnar Haug pointed out that OSVs have very

Offshore Support Journal | June 2016

little steel weight and scrap value, so there is no financial incentive for owners to scrap vessels. Mr Meade added that he expects to see wholesale consolidation among OSV owners. The 2016 annual Singapore Maritime Lecture given by Kristian Siem, chairman of Siem Industries in Norway, addressed how organisations can steer through this challenging time to seek new opportunities. Mr Siem focused particularly on the challenges facing the offshore industry. He said, “The global economic environment we operate in today is challenging, and overbuilding of rigs and ships in the early 2000s has led to imbalances in supply. However, the offshore industry continues to hold a bright future, and with the right leadership, we will be able to steer through the dark tunnel.” He added, “Global demand for oil and gas as primary energy sources continues to rise, hence providing an opportunity for growth in the offshore industry.” One of the best-known players in the offshore support vessel market, Ezra Holdings Ltd, and its subsidiary EMAS Offshore Production Service (Vietnam) Pte Ltd (EOPS), a wholly owned subsidiary of EMAS Offshore Ltd, have announced they have accepted a non-binding letter of intent to sell their combined 78.4 per cent equity interest in PV Keez Pte Ltd to a global infrastructure investment firm.

Mike Meade: “market imbalance was there before the oil price drop”

PV Keez is a single-purpose company that owns the floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) unit Lewek EMAS, which is chartered to Premier Oil Vietnam Offshore BV as operator of the Chim Sao field offshore southern Vietnam. Ezra and EOPS are expected to receive an aggregate consideration of a combination of cash and seller’s credit upon successful closure of the transaction. Commenting on the transaction, group chief executive and managing director of Ezra Holdings Lionel Lee said, “This transaction is fully in line with the group’s strategy to move away from ownership of FPSO assets and will allow us to streamline our resources. Furthermore, it will allow us to move towards capitalising on the capabilities and experience we have harnessed from FPSO conversions and to build a franchise based on providing higher value-added services.” For his part, Captain Adarash Kumar, EMAS Offshore’s chief executive officer, said the transaction will enable EMAS Offshore to strengthen its financial position and refocus the company’s business in the offshore support sector during what he called the “current challenging times in the oil and gas sector”. Barring any unforeseen circumstances and subject to the entry into a formal and binding agreement and obtaining the requisite approvals, the transaction is expected to be completed by the end of June 2016. OSJ

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Middle East AREA REPORT | 25

Regional bright spots lure more vessels from Asia Chartering opportunities in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and UAE continue to attract offshore vessels from Southeast Asia, but at discounted rates by Martyn Wingrove

he Middle East remains an important potential market for vessel utilisation in an otherwise dire offshore support vessel (OSV) market. Thus, the region is luring tonnage from around the continent, leading to an oversupply in vessels. The Arabian Gulf market is held up by ongoing offshore projects run by mostly national oil companies. In Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar, state oil companies and a few energy majors have taken advantage of the market conditions and secured quality tonnage for three to five year contracts at discounted pricing. There have been a number of fixtures, both period and shorter-term charters, for small to medium sized anchor handlers, medium sized platform supply vessels and utility vessels. Brokers are expecting more charter contract awards during the second quarter of this year as oil field operators look to negotiate day rates down further. Brokers anticipate that Saudi Aramco will hand out contracts for another 12 anchor handlers and a number of workboats and accommodation vessels in the coming months. It has already awarded 12 contracts for anchor handlers this year at significant day rate discounts. During the first quarter of this year, Saudi Aramco chartered two anchor handlers from Sharjah-based Global Marine Services. It hired 2008-built Steady Falcon and 2005-built Steady Eagle, both for three years beginning in March. Saudi Aramco also chartered 2006-built, DP1 anchor handler Bourbon Thera for three years from Bourbon Offshore. Rawabi Swiber has taken delivery of two newbuild 5,150 bhp anchor handlers from the Guangdong Yuexin yard in China. Brokers said these vessels were mobilised to begin long-term charters with Saudi Aramco. Qatar remains busy for OSV operators. In April, RasGas started chartering two 2013-built supply vessels to support its LNG operations in Qatar. It hired 2,803 dwt MMA Pride for 30 days as well as 65m, DP2 MEO Ranger for 90 days from Miclyn Express Offshore. Also in Qatar, Allianz Marine Services chartered 2014-built, 8,000 bhp anchor handler POSH Radiant for standby field duties for five years. Qatari company Milaha took delivery of a new liftboat near

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the end of April, which it ordered to meet growing demand for these vessels in the region. Milaha Explorer was built by Bohai Shipbuilding Heavy Industries Co at its yard in Liaoning Province in China. It was designed by the China-based Tianjin De-Sail Machinery Equipment Co with accommodation for 300 people. It has a large deck area and variable loading capacity. Milaha president and chief executive Abdulrahman Essa AlMannai said Milaha Explorer would enable the company to partner closely with leading energy companies to meet their diverse needs. He added, “We are optimistic about continued growth opportunities despite the current challenges, and this newbuild liftboat will enable us to further strengthen our position in the region and beyond.” Milaha Explorer will be operated by Halul Offshore Services, of which Vivek Seth is the chief executive. He said the liftboat was designed specifically to address the growing demand for these types of assets. “We believe that this strategic asset will help augment our status as a partner in the life extension of mature fields and enhanced field maintenance services,” he added. To meet operator requirements in UAE, Mutawa Marine is upgrading bridges of its vessels by installing Netwave Systems voyage data recorders (VDRs). Dubai-based Zener Electronics will install the VDRs on the fleet of 36 vessels, even though they are not required under any official international regulations. Netwave sales director Mark van Ede said Mutawa could use the VDRs for remotely monitoring operations on the vessels. “VDRs enable the manager to check on event logs and, if needed, arrange complete downloads in case of an emergency – we provide a management tool for owners to always have access to the recorded data.” OSJ

Middle East owners are winning contracts from state oil companies in the region

Offshore Support Journal | June 2016

26 | DYNAMIC POSITIONING

GE AND HORNBECK REDESIGN DP INTERFACES

ornbeck Offshore Services is one of the first offshore vessel owners to use a revamped dynamic positioning (DP) system from GE Marine Solutions on two new multipurpose support vessels (MPSVs) built in the US. GE supplied SeaStream DP systems to two US-flagged, Jones Act-qualified MPSVs constructed at Eastern Shipbuilding. The vessels were delivered by the yard in January and April of this year. GE also provides training in Houston to enable operators to use the new technology efficiently. With the help of Hornbeck Offshore’s input, GE completely redesigned and improved the user control interface of SeaStream DP. GE Marine Solutions president and chief executive Tim Schweikert said the new interface puts the control of the vessel back into the hands of the DP operator with simpler, intuitive controls. “The interface has a larger touchscreen and simpler displays for users,” he explained to OSJ. “We re-engineered the menu system and simplified the interfaces, because previously there was too much information on the display. The screens show information on the activity that operators are conducting, so they can focus on the mission, which results in more

GE has revamped its SeaStream DP user interfaces, with the assistance of US vessel owner Hornbeck Offshore, to make them more intuitive by Martyn Wingrove

efficient DP operations.” The changes have made quite a difference to the operators that have already been able to use the DP system for offshore operations or have been trained using the Houston simulator. “The user feedback over the last year is positive,” said Mr Schweikert. “Operators say this is an intuitive user interface.” It should also attract interest from vessel owners as GE has included an economy mode on the DP system that reduces the fuel used by the various thrusters to keep the vessel in a tight

Hornbeck Offshore’s latest MPSV has GE’s new SeaStream DP system

Offshore Support Journal | June 2016

position. “It offers the opportunity to save 10 per cent in fuel when in the economy mode,” he added. “It has algorithms that hold the vessel in position and does not overcompensate to keep the vessel in the box, which means less fuel consumption.” This could be attractive to owners that are suffering from the effects of declining charter rates for DP2 vessels. For equipment suppliers and system integrators, it is a tough market to gain contracts, said Mr Schweikert. He added, “It is a challenging as the market is depressed – it is a different market from last year. But there are some projects out there. For example, at the Offshore Technology Conference [in Houston in May], there was a new project that we will be looking into.” He did not elaborate on what this project entailed, but perhaps it is a positive green shoot. By redesigning the DP system interfaces, GE is hoping to attract more business when the market does pick up, said Mr Schweikert. “Our strategy is to invest in the downturn so we have stateof-the-art technology for the upturn,” he explained. GE has also invested in its SeaStream Insight onboard system monitoring system. This uses Predix, GE’s industrial operating system, to collate data from the variety of sensors that are deployed on offshore vessels. The Insight software analyses this data to provide operators with condition and performance information. “Sensors are becoming more prolific, especially in offshore where operators use this data to enhance operations,” said Mr Schweikert. Hornbeck Offshore director of projects and engineering William Krewsky gave GE positive feedback for the systems it supplied for the two MPSVs. “The solution provided by GE has been met with initial appreciation by our fleet operators during the sea trials and delivery of the lead vessel,” he said. For these vessels, GE also supplied the first MKII MV3000 active front end drives, which the company claimed have some of the highest power density of any developed drive. OSJ

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BULK HANDLING/TANK CLEANING | 29

Tank cleaning system is safer and greener Statoil, which says it has been looking for a way to make tank cleaning on offshore supply vessels safer and more effective, has awarded a contract to M-I SWACO to develop a new solution

arlier this year, Statoil, Norway’s state-owned oil company, awarded M-I SWACO a contract valued at around NKr500 million (US$56 million) for a new type of tank cleaning system. The four-year contract includes options for a further four years. The automated system means personnel need not enter the tanks on a vessel in order to clean them. Wash water and detergent are also recycled, so it is only the actual waste washed out of the tank that has to be processed further. Statoil says it has not used this type of technology on supply vessels before, but M-I SWACO has used such a solution on its own vessels. This is the first time the Schlumberger-owned company has commercialised the technology. “This solution increases the safety of our personnel as there is no need to enter tanks, and we reduce both time and cost,” said Jone Stangeland, vice president of logistics and emergency preparedness at Statoil. Typically, manual tank cleaning is carried out by emptying the tanks of any residual volume of cargo before personnel enter them, erect scaffolding and clean them. Manual tank cleaning usually generates a high volume of waste. “By cleaning the water in the same operation, the volume of waste is reduced significantly,” said Mr Stangeland. Another

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advantage of the truck-mounted system is that vessels will spend much less unproductive time docked in connection with tank cleaning. The new system will fit onto a truck. Statoil said it is constantly searching for new technology that can reduce its environmental footprint. Another example of this approach is that all of the supply vessel newbuilds that have entered long-term contracts with the company in the past two years have been modified to use shore power. They will also be equipped with a generator that can be used instead of the main engine when the vessel is docked. “We have also specified strict requirements for NOx emissions, and all new vessels are equipped with trip computers so the crew can monitor fuel consumption and adjust the speed and log fuel consumption more efficiently,” said Mr Stangeland. M-I SWACO is well known as a supplier of drilling fluid systems, fluid systems and specialised tools designed to optimise work offshore, such as wellbore productivity. It also specialises in production technology solutions to maximise production rates and environmental solutions to manage waste volumes generated in both drilling and production operations. Nowadays, it is part of Schlumberger. OSJ

M-I SWACO’s automated cleaning system means personnel will not have to enter tanks on an offshore vessel to clean them

Offshore Support Journal | June 2016

30 | PROPULSION

Auto mode capability helps optimise OSV fuel consumption T

he enginei system uses volumetric and mass flow measurement for enhanced fuel data analysis and engine reporting options that give vessel owners and operators detailed performance data, fuel optimisation rates and mission-critical information. In the conventional enginei installation, the specific operational mode of the vessel is indicated by manual notification into the system by a crew member. Some modes, such as ‘standby’ and ‘transit’, are common to all vessels, whilst others are specific to certain types of vessel, such as ‘dynamic positioning’ (DP) with offshore support vessels, ‘towing’ by tugs and ‘loading’ for container vessels. Operational modes are defined by different activities being undertaken by the vessel at different times and stages in a journey, with fuel consumption and emissions levels being influenced by the specific type of activity, speed and weather conditions. The accurate monitoring of performance during different modes can therefore have a significant impact on the economic operation of the vessel. To meet this need, working with marine engineering specialists from Newcastle University, Royston developed an upgraded version of the enginei fuel management system that utilises sophisticated data processing and statistical

Offshore Support Journal | June 2016

Working with Newcastle University and GulfMark Offshore, UK-based Royston has proved the concept of an ‘auto-mode’ detection capability for its enginei fuel management system for more accurate monitoring of fuel consumption and vessel emissions

analysis to automatically identify the vessel’s operational mode. By identifying individual operational modes automatically, the auto-mode capability removes the risk of human error introduced by the manual intervention of crew members and avoids the consequent risk of misinterpretation of engine and voyage data. In this way, the automatic detection of operational modes enables more reliable vessel and engine performance data to be produced. This means that onboard engineers and offshore fleet management staff have the ability to make more informed and accurate decisions based on trusted information on vessels

fuel consumption. Development of the automode system included trials undertaken in partnership with offshore vessel owner GulfMark using the platform supply vessel Highland Prince, which has a dieselelectric propulsion system with four Caterpillar engines and two auxiliary engines. In tests undertaken on the vessel, engine and fuel data was gathered by the enginei system to enable performance comparisons to be made between crewpressed operational mode and the automatic predicted mode. Engine and other sensor data was collected and analysed by the system

Trials on Highland Prince showed that enginei’s ‘auto mode’ enabled better voyage planning with optimum speeds and fuel consumption

to develop control limits for different operational modes. These profiles were used to automatically identify changes in the operational behaviour of the vessel as they occurred. Jim Bradford, general manager of operations for GulfMark, said, “The tests we have undertaken on the new enginei auto-mode detection capability have been very successful. The auto-mode identification was very accurate, enabling close correlation between the different types of vessel operational activities with specific fuel consumption rates. The automatic logging of vessel activity type will mean that the crew and onshore staff can identify not only the mode of operation but the time spent in each mode.” On Highland Prince, voyage data showed that 52 per cent of time is spent in transit, 5 per cent in port, 23 per cent in DP mode and 20 per cent in standby mode waiting to access the offshore installation. Mr Bradford said, “Auto mode will allow better voyage planning with optimum speeds and fuel consumptions achieved during transit. By arriving on time at eco speeds, this will ultimately contribute to reducing not only the transit consumption but also the standby time at the installation and consequently the fuel burnt when in standby mode. In addition, the conversion of the fuel consumption data will also enable accurate CO2 and other emissions levels to be calculated and operational adjustments to be made. Importantly, having more accurate performance data will also enable us to look at the actual working hours of individual engines, enabling us to more effectively balance their use at optimal levels of power output and to prioritise service and condition-based maintenance requirements.” OSJ

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PROPULSION | 31

Thruster manufacturers active despite the downturn The market for thrusters for offshore vessels may be quiet as a result of the oil price, but leading manufacturers have been active developing new products and enhancing their facilities and distribution networks

ne of the best-known manufacturers of thrusters, Wärtsilä, recently launched the new Wärtsilä WTT-40 transverse thruster. It says the first WTT-40s have been ordered and are scheduled for delivery during 2016. This first variant is part of Wärtsilä’s new transverse thruster series and features a 4,000kW power level and a 3,400mm diameter controllable pitch propeller, neither of which have been available in Wärtsilä’s product range until now. While Wärtsilä has designed and built large (up to 5,500kW) transverse thrusters as customised versions, the WTT-40 and others in the WTT range address customer needs for high power transverse thrusters for bow and stern applications. Development work on the Wärtsilä WTT-40 began in 2015 in response to market demand. It is intended for various vessel types, including large offshore support vessels and offshore construction vessels. Wärtsilä can also now supply a tunnel thruster fully type-approved by Lloyd’s Register. For the marine industry, this means the Wärtsilä WTT11 thruster can be installed and used without the need for a design review on each vessel, which the company anticipates will also result in cost savings. The type approval certification confirms the product meets industry quality standards that will enable a more rapid production time, so reducing customer lead times. Another well known thruster manufacturer, Schottel, says it started the year “with a bag full of orders”. The company has long played an important role in the tug market. At the end of 2015, it held orders for propulsors for eight azimuth stern drive tugs and a rotor tug. It also has orders for a range of vessel types, including seismic vessels and says the Schottel Rudderpropeller is often the first choice of shipowners. April 2016 saw Brunvoll in Norway open the Brunvoll Competence Centre. “This change in location means that we can be far more efficient, having everything at the same location, including production, sales promotion, development, construction and services,” said the director of Brunvoll Holding AS, Terje Dyrseth. Among the company’s most recent contracts is one for the thrusters for an advanced cablelay vessel that is being built at Kleven for ABB. Brunvoll will deliver tunnel thrusters for the 140m vessel, which is of SALT 306 CLV design. A crewboat for Seacor in the US is one of the latest references for Thrustmaster, which supplied three 30TT200 electricmechanical tunnel thrusters for Alya McCall, the first of a new class of monohull fast support vessels for Seacor. Two UT4000 monohull fast supply vessels designed by Incat Crowther and built by ETP Engenharia Ltda in Brazil also have Thrustmaster thrusters. The vessels, Baru Providencia and Baru Antares, are the third and fourth

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Among the most recent contracts awarded to Brunvoll was one for the tunnel thrusters for this SALT 306 CLV cablelay unit

in a 12-vessel series and have fixed-pitched propellers, with two 150 horsepower electric tunnel bow thrusters supplied by Thrustmaster. Among Rolls-Royce’s most recent contracts for thrusters are units intended for SPA80A anchor handlers that Sinopacific Shipbuilding Group in China is building for Esnaad, part of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. Each ship will have a bollard pull of 80 tonnes and be equipped with Bergen diesel engines, main and tunnel thrusters, electrical power system and a deck machinery package from Rolls-Royce. The first ship is due for delivery in 2017. Dutch thruster manufacturer Veth Propulsion has named Nico International as its distributor for select Middle East markets (United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar). The companies will leverage their positions to offer customers in the region access to Veth Propulsion’s wide range of shipping products, supported by Nico’s extensive support network of sales and service facilities. Among the most recent contracts awarded to Steerprop Ltd in Finland is one from Havyard shipyard in Norway to deliver two 1,000kW SP 14 D propulsors to serve as the main propulsors for a windfarm support vessel for Esvagt. The propulsors will be delivered to the shipyard in December 2016. Steerprop also has a new sales representative in Italy in the form of Marine EQ Snc. OSJ

Offshore Support Journal | June 2016

32 | OIL SPILL RESPONSE

IMO publishes guide to spill response in ice The growing body of literature looking at oil spill response in the Arctic, ice-prone regions and cold climates has been supplemented by an indepth report on the subject from IMO

t 183 pages, Guide to Oil Spill Response in Snow and Ice Conditions provides a unique insight into the issues and strategies surrounding the challenge of spill response in the Arctic. Commissioned by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the Arctic Council working group for Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response (EPPR) from a team comprising Owens Coastal Consultants and DF Dickins Associates, it will be supplemented by a companion volume to be issued shortly by IMO that includes the Antarctic and other subarctic areas affected by ice. It can be downloaded at: https://oaarchive.arcticcouncil.org/handle/11374/403. The objective of the Arctic version of the IMO guide is to identify and describe those aspects of planning and operations that are directly associated with a response to an Arctic oil spill in ice and snow conditions. Response strategies to deal with Arctic oil spills in summer open-water conditions are not considered in the guide. Focusing in detail on planning and preparation

Offshore Support Journal | June 2016

for an incident and the implementation of response strategies, the authors of the guide highlight that one point deserves special attention for remote Arctic areas: the need to have a rigorous, scientifically defensible, streamlined process in place to rapidly assess the environmental trade-offs and process the necessary approvals related to the use of dispersants and in situ burning. “The goal is to maximise all the available options in an emergency, including mechanical recovery, where they are appropriate and effective,” they note.

“Giving responders the flexibility to rapidly select and apply the most effective and environmentally beneficial strategy is crucial to ensuring success of any spill response.” As they also note, oil spill response management, organisation, planning, decision and notification concepts and principles are not uniform worldwide, but frequently follow best practice guidelines (for example, International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation Technical Information Paper 9 Disposal of Oil and Debris). Planning, preparation and training for a response to oil spills in ice and snow typically have different goals and objectives to global recommended best practices depending on the ice regime and ice cycle in a given area and the extent of supporting infrastructure, the guide says. Many Arctic areas have challenging weather conditions and low populations with limited infrastructure, and there are multiple potential sources of oil spills in iceaffected areas, including marine activities connected with oil and gas exploration and production, cargo vessels, research vessels, cruise ships, drilling operations and pipelines. Planning for the credible worst-case discharge is a primary requirement for new drilling applications, but

Responding to an oil spill in the Arctic – or any area where ice may be present – can be challenging in the extreme

the frequency of such events is extremely remote compared to smaller Tier 1 or 2 spills. In 40 years of offshore drilling in Arctic waters, there has not been a Tier 3 incident. Of course, this is no indicator of a future where many more wells could be drilled in these areas, but it does point out that large spills occur infrequently. The probability of an extended loss of control event will continue to decrease with improved drilling technologies developed over the past decade, for example, wellcapping devices engineered following the Macondo incident in 2010 and enhanced blowout preventers in combination with devices such as the alternative well kill system (AWKS). Areas in the guide with the highest current concentration of offshore year-round oil production in ice include Sakhalin Island, Alaska North Slope and the Pechora Sea. All of the presently planned oil exploration programmes are designed and permitted for completion during the summer open-water period, and spills from those activities are unlikely to occur with ice present under normal circumstances. As the authors of the report note, “Although, in theory, there are several strategic tools in the responder toolkit, using these effectively in a real incident could be extremely challenging.” Significant ice concentrations can severely limit the effectiveness of mechanical containment and recovery in dealing with large spills. At the same time, the presence of ice can potentially increase the window of opportunity for successful burning and/or dispersant applications. Detection of oil in ice and under snow is challenging and may require a mix of sensors and platforms including satellite, airborne, surface and subsea. Safety of personnel is always paramount. OSJ

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TURKISH SHIPBUILDING | 35

Ability to build range of ships stands Turkish yards in good stead Turkish yards have profited from the offshore vessel sector in recent years but now have to look elsewhere for business – existing links with Norwegian yards could help

n the past, Turkish yards have tended to focus on niche markets, such as smaller types of tanker. This has meant that the level of production has fluctuated somewhat. It could decline in the short-term now that the market for another niche, offshore vessels, is in such a depressed state, at least until such time as new niche markets are successfully targeted. Turkish yards have also been strongly export oriented, which could also be a challenge now given that very few offshore vessels are being ordered. Figures for industry output were relatively balanced between export and domestic markets at one time, with construction of small tankers largely for export. This changed significantly with the 2008 economic crisis, which saw deliveries to domestic buyers start to dominate. After the economic crisis, the Turkish shipbuilding industry’s focus became more limited, focusing again on the small tanker market and on offshore vessels, a strategy that could be considered a weakness and a strength for the industry. In recent years, Turkish shipyards have secured a growing volume of business by working on behalf of Norwegian yards, building hulls for vessels subsequently completed in Norway. Some Turkish yards have also moved beyond hull building, completing vessels in their entirety. Given the profound nature of the downturn in the support vessel sector, new orders for offshore vessels are likely to be few and far between, but the yards’ relationship with Norway could help cushion them from the effects of the downturn in the offshore sector, and established relationships with yards in Norway could still lead to orders for hulls for related vessel types. These include the growing number of service operation vessels (SOVs) for the offshore wind industry. The hulls of fishing vessels for the Norwegian market have also been built in Turkish yards, and Norwegian principals such as Havyard, who have used Turkish shipyards, also design vessels for the offshore wind and fishing vessel sectors. Among the most recent projects in Turkey are a series of vessels that Selah Shipyard has been building for Marnavi in Italy. It most recently launched Ievoli Amber, a newbuild platform supply vessel

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Turkish yards such as Selah have built a number of offshore vessels but will need to find new markets

(PSV) for Marnavi. Ievoli Amber is a sister vessel to Ievoli Cobalt, which was launched by Selah in November 2015. The vessels are of MMC 879L CD design. Selah Shipyard also delivered Ievoli Ivory to Marnavi in 2015, a vessel built to the MMC 887 MPSV design. The yard also recently secured a letter of intent for a LPG carrier. The multipurpose PSV Troms Polaris was launched at Tersan Shipyard in Turkey on 4 March 2016. The vessel is being built for Tidewater’s Norwegian affiliate, Troms Offshore. Cemre Shipyard was awarded a contract to build a Havyard 831 SOV for Danish owner Esvagt. Elsewhere, FEMCO is making progress with its fleet expansion plans, including some vessels built in Turkey. These include the recent launches of the anchor-handling tug/supply (AHTS) vessels Normann and Pomor. Normann and Pomor are sister vessels being built to the Havyard 843 ICE design and were launched by the Cemre and Tersan shipyards in Turkey, with final outfitting to take place in Norway. Broker Seabrokers also recently confirmed that SPP Shipbuilding in South Korea has sold a partially built AHTS vessel to Sevnor. The vessel was initially ordered by Finarge Srl, part of the Rimorchiatori Riuniti Group. However, the order was cancelled last year. The vessel has been mobilised to Tersan Shipyard in Turkey, where construction will continue ahead of a scheduled delivery in the first half of 2017. The vessel is being built to the Moss 919 design. OSJ

Offshore Support Journal | June 2016

36 | SPANISH SHIPBUILDING

NEWBUILD CONTINUES CLOSE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN OWNER AND YARD THE LATEST VESSEL TO BE DELIVERED BY ASTILLEROS BALENCIAGA IS GRAMPIAN FORTRESS – THE FIRST OF A PAIR OF IMT 958 EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND RESCUE VESSELS FOR NORTH STAR SHIPPING

orth Star Shipping’s order for the latest emergency response and rescue vessels (ERRVs) to join its fleet dates back to September 2013, when the Aberdeenbased company awarded the Spanish yard a contract for six ERRVs to be built to two designs: four IMT 950 designs, known as the D-class, of which four have already been delivered, and two IMT 958, or the F-class. March 2016 saw the first F-class vessel delivered, with the second due to be delivered in July 2016. Grampian Fortress is 58.2m overall with a 13.2m beam and is an evolution on the earlier IMT 950 design, with a dieselelectric propulsion system and the additional functions of cargo-carrying capacity and backloading operations. The new vessel is a Group B standby rescue vessel, designed and outfitted to rescue up to 300 people in the

UK sector. The accommodation is arranged for up to 20 crew, most in single cabins, with six cabins being for double use. Dedicated survivor spaces and a treatment area have been incorporated at main deck level for easy access of survivors into the accommodation. All the UK Offshore Operators Association regulatory accommodation outfit and equipment, as required for this kind of vessel, have been carefully studied and laid out to enhance a speedy access and flow of survivors to the different treatment, resting or sitting areas. Below decks, there are a number of tanks that are dedicated for the carriage of cargo fresh water and fuel oil, with their corresponding discharge pumps of 75 m3/ hr capacity, the latter with frequency drive control. The vessel is also capable of carrying deck cargo on the 200m2 deck, with a loadbearing capacity of 5 t/m2. The deck

is surrounded with a cargo railing system, typical of a supply vessel, consisting of strong H-profile web stanchions and horizontal thick-walled steel pipes inboard of the bulwarks forming safe passageways between the cargo rails and the ship’s side bulwarks. Container lock fittings on deck, pad eyes, lashing fittings, rollers, rings and stanchion sockets are fully load rated and certificated. A 5-tonne pull tugger winch is provided aft of the superstructure for dragging loads around deck and making them fast. For handling of provisions, spares and equipment whilst in harbour and handling the rescue basket and scoop in rescue situations, the vessel is fitted with a Heila crane. For rescue operations, the vessel is provided with a Delta Phantom daughter craft and a Solas-approved Avon Searider 6.5m fast rescue craft, which are deployed and recovered using hydraulically operated davits supplied by Cargotec. Other appliances for rescuing survivors from the water are the Dacon scoop and a rescue basket, both of which are operated from onboard the vessel and do not require any of the ship’s crew to leave the safety of the vessel in adverse weather conditions. OSJ

in brief

Grampian Fortress is North Star Shipping’s first IMT 958 – a second ship is due to be delivered in July

Offshore Support Journal | June 2016

■ Broker Seabrokers says Simon Møkster Shipping has accepted delivery of the newbuild platform supply vessel (PSV) Stril Mar from the Astilleros Gondán Shipyard in northern Spain. The UT 776 WP PSV is of the same design as Stril Luna, but Stril Mar also comes with a FiFi 2 system with monitors installed at the stern. Stril Mar has a length of 92.8m, breadth of 20.0m and deck area of 1,030m². The vessel has a deadweight of 5,000 tonnes and accommodation for 25 people and can operate in harsh environments, with Winterization and ICE-1C notations. It is also classed as a standby vessel, equipped to rescue up to 150 survivors in the event of an emergency.

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RECENT DELIVERIES | 39

Adverse weather is no obstacle to new cablelayer SIEM OFFSHORE’S NEW CABLELAY VESSEL WAS DESIGNED TO BE ABLE TO LAY CABLE IN CONDITIONS THAT WOULD THWART MANY OTHER VESSELS

he cablelay vessel Siem Aimery, the latest addition to the Siem Offshore fleet, was named on 27 April 2016 at Remontowa Shipbuilding in Gdańsk, Poland. The vessel will now undergo final mobilisation prior to commencing cableloading activities for its first project assignment. Siem Aimery was designed for the installation and repair of medium and high voltage submarine cables. Having two carousels low in the vessel’s hull and a hangar-based cable deck, the vessel was specifically designed to work in adverse weather conditions. Siem Offshore Contractors has a long-term charter agreement with Siem Offshore and will be responsible for the cablelaying operations of the vessel. Siem Aimery will start work with Siem Moxie, installing the inner-array grid and export cable systems for the Nordsee One offshore windfarm in the coming months. Thereafter, the vessel will continue with the winter installation campaign of the innerarray grid cable system of the Veja Mate offshore windfarm in the German Bight. As highlighted previously in OSJ, wave-related operability has been a significant issue on projects of this type before, and wave height-related issues have historically been a major factor leading to delays in cablelay operations. However, Siem Offshore believes that the new cablelayer provides an answer to this issue, having a hull design that permits cable-handling operations in a significant wave height of up to 3.5m. Designed to satisfy cablelay demands in the offshore wind and offshore oil and gas industries, Siem Aimery was designed with a focus on excellent seakeeping ability, stationkeeping performance and low fuel consumption. The vessel has two cable carousels/turntables, a sheltered cablelaying deck with tracks and workshops, cable-handling equipment including linear cable engines, a launch and recovery system (LARS) for remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) over the stern and a hangar for a trenching ROV with LARS and a gate to launch on the starboard side. The vessel is characterised by high standard, low noise

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level accommodation and a 360-degree panoramic bridge. The cablelay equipment is engineered to offer a high cable-carrying capacity without sacrificing workability offshore. As highlighted above, by handling the cable via a quadrant and track system in an environmentally protected space, the risk of damage to the cable is reduced and offshore workability is increased. The cablelay specification includes an electrically driven carousel of 2,500 tonnes loading capacity plus another electrically driven carousel of 1,750 tonnes capacity, four electrically driven linear cable engines of 8 tonnes working load limit (WLL) suitable for master-slave mode, two electrically driven feeder cable engines of 2 tonnes WLL and two electrically driven abandonment and recovery winches of 20 tonnes WLL. They are complemented by two electric tugger winches and a cable deployment quadrant of 10 tonnes WLL with adjustable bending radius, four deck cable quadrants (5 tonnes WLL) with adjustable bending radius and 12 modular cable track ways. The cablelaying deck is installed below the main deck in a climate-controlled environment and includes a cable quadrant and track deployment system capable of handling cable protection systems. This design reduces risk to cablelaying crew and the cable, particularly in adverse weather, and adds to the vessel’s ability to continue cablelay operations in extreme conditions. As highlighted above, the design criteria for the vessel also included the ability to operate in extreme conditions and the ability to handle cables in a significant wave height of 3.5m and launch and recover two work-class ROVs and a trenching ROV in the same conditions. The ability to operate in these conditions increases the operational availability of the vessel and extends the number of working days per year. With a length overall of 95.3m and length between perpendiculars of 84.9m, Siem Aimery has a moulded breadth of 21.5m with a trials speed at 100 per cent load on each of the propulsion units at 5.0m draught, clean hull and with sea state 0–1 of approximately 14.0 knots. OSJ

Offshore Support Journal | June 2016

40 | ROV/AUV

NTNU spin-off collaborates with Kongsberg and Statoil to develop swimming robots

ongsberg Maritime and Statoil have signed an agreement with Eelume, a NTNU (Norwegian University of Science & Technology) spin-off company, to accelerate new technology that it claims will significantly reduce costs related to subsea inspection, maintenance and repair operations. NTNU and Sintef have conducted research on snake robotics for more than 10 years. Eelume is now developing a disruptive solution for underwater inspection and maintenance in the form of a swimming robot. The idea is to let these robots do inspection and light intervention jobs on the seabed, reducing the use of large and expensive vessels. With its snake-like form, the slender and flexible body of the Eelume robot provides access to confined areas that are difficult to access with existing technology. Eelume robots will be permanently installed on the seabed and will perform planned and on-demand inspections and interventions. The solution can be installed on both existing and new fields where typical jobs include; visual inspection, cleaning, and adjusting valves and chokes. These jobs account for a large part of the total subsea inspection and intervention spend. The strength of the collaboration lies in the unique contributions from each of the

Offshore Support Journal | June 2016

NTNU believes that swimming robots could undertake inspection and light intervention jobs, reducing the use of large, expensive vessels

parties. Eelume was founded by top academics from NTNU, Kongsberg Maritime brings in 25 years of experience and technology development within marine robotics and Statoil provides access to real installations for testing and qualification. The combined efforts now include an exciting mix of entrepreneurial spirit, industrial competence, technology and a demanding end-customer. The result is a very robust development process from idea to market. “With our unique expertise in the field of snake robotics Eelume is the first company in the world to bring these amazing robots into an industrial setting. Now we take the step from academia and into the commercial world to secure our place in the new and exciting subsea

intervention landscape,” said Pål Liljebäck, chief technology officer at Eelume. “This is a perfect example of how NTNU AMOS can contribute to bringing research based innovations into the market place through new spinoff companies and cooperation with leading industry players. Eelume is already the fifth spinoff company from researchers at NTNU AMOS and the third since 2013. SFF NTNU AMOS is strongly supported by the NTNU management, the Norwegian Research Council, Statoil, DNV GL and SINTEF Group,” said Asgeir J Sørensen, director, NTNU AMOS, Centre for Autonomous Marine Operations and Systems. “This partnership offers the chance to bring radical technology to the market, not just in what the Eelume robot

can do, but how it does it,” said Bjørn Jalving, executive vice president subsea division at Kongsberg Maritime. “It is a new tool that will enable operators to realise large scale cost savings by introducing new ways of conducting routine tasks and helping to prevent unscheduled shutdowns by reacting instantly when required.” “Eelume is a good example of how new technology and innovation contributes to cost reduction. Instead of using large and expensive vessels for small jobs, we now introduce a flexible robot acting as a selfgoing janitor on the seabed. To support smaller companies in bringing new technology to the market is an important part of our research portfolio,” said Statoil’s chief technology officer Elisabeth Birkeland Kvalheim. OSJ

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42 | COMPANY NEWS

Quintin Kneen: “settlement has resolved uncertainty and will not require further capital expenditure”

Tidewater borrows deeply

GulfMark reaches deal with yard

US-based offshore vessel owner Tidewater has borrowed US$600 million under its revolving credit facility, the maximum amount available under the facility. The funds are intended to be used for general corporate purposes and to enhance the company’s liquidity position and financial flexibility. However, such is the state of the offshore vessel industry that the company is not yet out of woods financially. Tidewater president and chief executive officer Jeff Platt said, “Like the entire energy services industry, Tidewater continues to face challenges arising from the decline in the level of offshore oil and gas drilling and development activity around the world. Moreover, the uncertainty surrounding the future direction in oil and gas prices has resulted in our clients’ continued reduction in their capital budgets, spending and activity levels. “Tidewater previously announced the suspension of its quarterly dividend and common stock repurchase programme and the realignment of its operating structure. These and other steps have been taken to enhance liquidity, reduce costs and reduce capital expenditures, all to best position the company for an eventual industry recovery.

We are in compliance with all financial covenants and other terms of the revolving credit facility and our note indentures. This was a predicate to our being able to draw on the revolving credit facility.” However, at the end of December, the company confirmed that the deterioration of the offshore energy market has had a corresponding negative effect on the company’s vessel revenue and other financial metrics. As a result, it is possible that, in future quarters and possibly as early as fiscal 2017, the company may cease being in compliance with interest coverage ratios contained in certain of its debt facilities and senior note indentures. Failure to meet the required interest coverage ratios would be an event of default under certain of the company’s debt facilities. As a result, Tidewater said it is in dialogue with the principal lenders and noteholders to obtain amendments and/or waivers of these covenants in advance of any such default occurring, with the goal of finalising any amendments and/ or waivers prior to any possible covenant breach. Obtaining the covenant relief the company is seeking will require the company to successfully harmonise the interests of the banks and the noteholders.

Island Offshore secures support from bondholders

Norwegian offshore vessel owner Island Offshore, one of several companies seeking support from bondholders for a restructuring, has secured support from its bondholders. The company said a proposed resolution for a restructuring received affirmative votes from 96.34 per cent of the voting bonds represented at the meeting.

Offshore Support Journal | June 2016

US offshore vessel owner GulfMark Offshore has announced that a settlement has been reached in a dispute with a shipyard in the US. The company said the settlement that has been reached will not require it to make any additional payments to the yard – believed to be BAE Systems – for vessels that it is building for GulfMark. Delivery of the first of the vessels is scheduled for the third quarter of 2016. The settlement also grants an option to purchase the second vessel for $26 million on 30 June 2017, with payment due at delivery if the option is exercised. Quintin Kneen, president and chief executive of GulfMark, said, “We are pleased with the results of the settlement and to have this uncertainty resolved. The option to make no further capital expenditures allows us to adjust our investment to match market conditions. These 300-class Jones Act-qualified platform supply vessels are designed to work in any market, under any market conditions. They meet the higher cargocarrying capacities, fuel efficiency, increased berthing, safety, fire-fighting and environmental classifications preferred by our customers in the global marketplace. They will be the only US-flagged platform supply vessels that have fire-fighting vessel class 2 (FFV2) with three water monitors and mobile foam generators; safety standby service GR B – (300) with two fast rescue craft, facilities and equipment to treat 300 survivors; oil recovery capability class 2; HAB (WB) for vibration, noise, climate control and lighting; Green Passport (GP); and Environmental Notation (ENVIRO) for Marpol.”

NorSea renews framework agreement with Technip NorSea Group (NSG) has signed a renewed framework agreement concerning the delivery of base and port services to Technip Norge AS. The framework agreement, originally entered into in 2009, has now been extended until the end of 2018, with two one-year options. The services covered by the agreement include various base and logistics services and support in connection with maritime operations, waste management and technical work. NSG and Technip have had close ties for a number of years and this is the second time the agreement has been extended. They also have a joint interest in developments in the offshore wind energy market and are currently working together on Statoil’s Hywind Scotland Pilot Park project, which is being implemented at Stordbase. The agreement has an extensive scope and involves nine of the NSG companies along the Norwegian coast and in the United Kingdom. The work will be undertaken by NorSea, Stordbase, Coast Center Base, Vestbase, Helgelandsbase, Polarbase, Maritime Waste Management, Maritime Logistic Services and NorSea Group (UK) Ltd. OSJ

www.osjonline.com

PEOPLE NEWS | 43

Aquatic Engineering expands Houston team

Bob Terrell (left) joined Aquatic recently as regional manager, and Andrew Blaquiere (right) has moved permanently from the Acteon group to Aquatic as proposals and project engineer

Aquatic Engineering & Construction Ltd has expanded its team in Houston. Bob Terrell joined Aquatic last month as regional manager, while Andrew Blaquiere has moved permanently from the Acteon group to Aquatic as proposals and project engineer. Both will focus on growing Aquatic’s business in the Americas. Mr Terrell joins Aquatic with more than 30 years’ experience in the onshore and offshore oil and gas industry with a substantial focus on subsea operations, having held roles in business development, sales and operational management. He has operational experience working in West Africa, the UK, Brazil, Canada

and the US. Mr Terrell holds a degree in international management from Louisiana Tech University and joins Aquatic’s leadership team reporting to Martin Charles, managing director. Mr Blaquiere has eight years’ experience in the offshore oil and gas industry and holds a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Missouri. Mr Blaquiere was seconded from the Acteon group to work with Aquatic in early 2015, where he has been providing local key customer support for projects in Houston. He has been successful in securing a number of recent project wins in the Gulf of Mexico.

New CEO at Bumi Armada

DeepOcean appoints Barril to board

The board of Bumi Armada Berhad has appointed Leon A Harland as its new chief executive officer to take office on 16 May 2016. Mr Harland is executive vice-president, commercial and technology of Heerema Marine Contractors and a member of the board of management, with joint responsibility for the company’s performance and direct responsibility for all commercial, contracting, engineering and innovation initiatives. Prior to joining Heerema, he worked at SBM Offshore, the largest floating production, storage and offloading vessel operator in the world, where he held various positions in engineering, project management and business development. In 2004, Mr Harland was tasked to start up and build their floating LNG business.

DeepOcean Group Holding has announced that Philippe Barril has been elected as non-executive director to serve on its board of directors. Mr Barril is currently the chief operating officer of SBM Offshore. He has more than 25 years’ experience in the oil and gas contracting and service sectors. He started his career at Bouygues Offshore for 12 years as an engineer, moving into project management, and acted as a regional business unit manager. From 2002 to 2005, he joined Technip as CEO Africa and Mediterranean. Mr Barril was appointed managing director of Entrepose Contracting from 2007 to 2009. In 2009, he moved to Technip, working in a number of senior executive positions, and was appointed president and chief operating officer in 2014 until February 2015.

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UTEC makes appointment in Middle East UTEC Survey has made an appointment to head up its new branch office in Abu Dhabi as it seeks to broaden support to its growing client base in the Middle East region. Noel Cowley, who has been with the UTEC group since 2007 in various operational and senior management positions, will head up the Abu Dhabi office as general manager. UTEC is currently supporting several projects in the Middle East region. “Having participated in the company’s phenomenal growth in international markets, I look forward to playing a key role in expanding UTEC’s quality services into the Middle East region,” commented Noel, who brings 30 years’ experience ranging from the Royal Australian Navy to upstream energy management roles. Sean Fowler, UTEC’s regional manager, remarked, “We are delighted to have Noel Cowley leading our continued growth in the Middle East region. His track record of creating value for our clients is indisputable. He solidly represents UTEC’s mission to support customers who have come to expect excellence as a hallmark of UTEC’s service offering.” OSJ

Noel Cowley has been appointed as general manager for UTEC Survey in Abu Dhabi

Offshore Support Journal | June 2016

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IMCA NEWS | 45

More and more IMCA members

active in renewables MEMBERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL MARINE CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION ARE INCREASINGLY ACTIVE IN THE OFFSHORE RENEWABLES MARKET

Richard Benzie: “more and more IMCA members are involved in offshore renewable activity”

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lthough most members of the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) are active in the offshore oil and gas industry, and have been for many years, many members are also active in the offshore renewable energy sector, from feasibility studies and geotechnical site investigations, through installation offshore to operations and maintenance. “Currently, our members are particularly involved with the offshore wind sector with contracts being won across all our technical divisions (diving, offshore survey, marine, and remote systems and remotely operated vehicles, as everlarger developments are in deeper water, and challenged with achieving ever-lower costs. What remains of paramount importance is safety,” said Richard Benzie, IMCA’s technical director. Highlighting the need to do everything possible to ensure safe working in the offshore wind sector, earlier this year, IMCA’s renewable energy work group joined with the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the G9 Offshore Wind Health and Safety Association in hosting an offshore wind safety event in Liverpool. The event was attended by over 50 senior stakeholders who came together to discuss how the industry can improve safe systems of work. IMCA opened the event with a call that those attending approach the day with a willingness to develop shared solutions for shared problems. The HSE is looking to industry to lead health and safety improvement, and G9 delivered a presentation that demonstrated their safety commitment. The themes of working together and leadership were common threads running through the event. “After a great day of exchanging ideas, the message was that the industry wants the different stakeholders to work together and is looking to G9 and IMCA to lead safety improvement,” Mr Benzie said. “Both organisations are considering how to build on the momentum created by the day’s efforts with the intention of delivering a safer industry.” The day was encapsulated by a 90-minute session at All-Energy in early May, when panellists included representatives of

HSE, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, IMCA and the International Jack-Up Barge Operators Association. Walk-to-work is a hot topic of interest to a number of IMCA members, and the renewable energy workgroup has established a dedicated subgroup to consider walk-towork personnel transfer issues. The new subgroup is not intended to promote walk-towork over other personnel transfer options nor reinvent wheels that have already been invented. Its inaugural meeting was held in the spring. The group aims to fill gaps in existing documents and provide the offshore renewable sector with tools that will facilitate informed decision making and promote good risk management. The subgroup will reach out to the oil and gas sector, as it is recognised that walk-to-work is not unique to the world of offshore windfarms. However, the subgroup also recognises that the renewables sector faces different challenges and operational requirements. A walk-to-work vessel can, for example, make 50 or more connections with wind turbine structures in a day, operating in dynamic positioning (DP) mode, which is unlike a walk-to-work profile in oil and gas. The subgroup includes representatives from a range of industry stakeholders, as well as the HSE, and will be developing a walk-to-work decision tree and considering guidance for safe walk-to-work personnel transfers and educational material. Existing IMCA guidance relevant to the offshore wind industry includes that for the design and operation of DP vessels (M 103), for lifting operations (M 187) and for the training and experience of key DP personnel (M 117) – all currently being revised. Other relevant guidance includes Marine Inspection for Small Workboats (M 189), Vessel Assurance (M 204) and guidance on the transfer of personnel to/from offshore vessels and structures (M 202), for the positioning of DP jack-up vessels on and off the seabed (M 223) and Marine Division competence assurance and assessment (C 002). IMCA’s invaluable ‘safety flash’ reporting system is also well regarded by the renewables sector. OSJ

Offshore Support Journal | June 2016

46 | SAFETY FLASHES

MOSQUITOBORNE DISEASES The International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) regularly publishes safety flashes summarising safety matters and incidents, allowing wider dissemination of lessons learned from them, a recent example of which is reproduced here

s highlighted briefly in the April 2016 issue of OSJ (see page 78), a recent fatality from malaria has focused attention once again on mosquito-borne diseases of all kinds. In light of this fatality, the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) has also shared information on the Zika virus, which may be of use and interest to members. The malarial fatality took place offshore Ghana. A nonimmune foreign national contractor presented himself to the offshore medic with flu-like symptoms. He tested negative for malaria twice via rapid diagnostic testing. He was sent ashore for further evaluation and subsequently died as a result of complications arising from malaria.

WHY DID IT HAPPEN?

• mosquito bite prevention measures were not taken (repellent, longsleeved clothing) • malarial prevention drugs (prophylaxis) were not taken (such as Malarone or doxycycline) • malaria was not diagnosed early, and as a result, the deceased did not receive the necessary medical treatment in a timely way. The following points were reiterated: • the importance of refresher training in malaria management for all relevant personnel • the importance of seeking early treatment • correct and timely use of rapid reaction diagnostic kits • following the World Health Organisation’s ABCD approach to malaria management will be helpful: A is for awareness; B is for bite prevention; C is for chemoprophylaxis; D is for diagnosis – early diagnosis.

ZIKA VIRUS

Zika is a disease caused by the Zika virus – it is spread to people primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito. About one in five people infected with Zika will fall ill. For

Offshore Support Journal | June 2016

people who get sick, the illness is usually mild. For this reason, many people might not realise that they have been infected. The most common symptoms of the Zika virus disease are fever, rash, joint pain or conjunctivitis (red eyes). Symptoms typically begin two to seven days after being bitten by an infected mosquito. The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting from several days to a week. The Zika virus is transmitted to people by infected Aedes mosquitoes, which also spread the dengue and chikungunya viruses. The mosquitoes are aggressive daytime biters, but they can also bite at night. Mosquitoes become infected when they bite a person already infected with the virus. Infected mosquitoes can then spread the virus to other people through bites. Spreading of the virus through blood transfusion and sexual contact has also been reported.

AT RISK AREAS

Currently, South America is seeing a large outbreak of Zika virus infection, with Brazil reporting the largest outbreak – estimated at over 1 million infections in 2015. In Southeast Asia, sporadic cases of the Zika virus have been detected from Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines, East Malaysia and Thailand in recent years. The control measures are as follows: • reduce the risk of importation of the Zika virus – travellers to countries with the Zika virus infection are advised to protect themselves from mosquito bites • facilitate early detection of cases – returning travellers from affected areas are advised to seek medical attention if they develop symptoms of Zika such as fever, skin rashes, joint and muscle pains, headaches and red eyes • contain the spread of Zika virus infection – confirmed cases will be admitted to a public hospital until they recover and test negative for the virus. Admitting them into a single room at the hospital will also minimise their risk of being bitten by mosquitoes while they are carrying the virus, which may result in further local transmission. Travellers to countries with local transmission of the Zika virus should take precautions and protect themselves from mosquito bites by wearing long sleeves, long trousers and/or appropriate covering clothing, applying insect repellent and sleeping under mosquito nets or in rooms with wire-mesh screens to keep out mosquitoes. If travellers to such countries become unwell, they should seek medical attention promptly. Pregnant women should reconsider their travel plans to countries with ongoing outbreaks and local transmission. Travellers who have returned from affected areas should monitor their health for the next 14 days and consult a doctor if they have any symptoms of Zika, such as fever, skin rashes, joint and muscle pains, headaches and red eyes. They should inform the doctor of the areas they have travelled to. OSJ

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SAFETY ALERTS | 47

PSV INVOLVED IN NEAR MISS WHILST ON LOCATION; CASING INCIDENT Compiled using information provided by the Marine Safety Forum, www.marinesafetyforum.org

vessel entered the 500m zone whilst making excessive speed. Fortunately, the second officer on watch observed the situation and intervened, bringing the matter to the attention of the senior officer on watch, thus avoiding a less favourable outcome. The excessive speed and direction of approach were also observed by the installation, which alerted the vessel accordingly. A detailed and thorough investigation was conducted, and as a result, amendments were made to 500m pre-entry procedures, with a view to minimising the likelihood of reoccurrence. The investigation found that the 500m pre-entry checks were conducted further away from the installation than normal due to the vessel maintaining what was considered to be a safe distance while dodging infield. The senior officer had become overly fixated with course over ground, and so failed to notice he had not yet reduced speed. The vessel’s pre-entry checklist and that of the installation had differing requirements. The vessel’s pre-entry checklist, when completed in list order, required both radars should be switched to standby prior to disengaging the autopilot and changing to manual steering. The installation’s checklist

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stated the 3cm radar should be switched off on arrival at the location. The vessel could be infield at the location but not working alongside, waiting for weather or to be called alongside. If the checklist was taken literally, not utilising both radars infield could compromise the vessel’s safety of navigation.

CORRECTIVE ACTIONS TAKEN/ RECOMMENDATIONS

• all vessels must approach on a course that is offset from the installation, rig or other asset • attention must be paid to the vessel’s vector line in comparison to the vessel’s heading to ensure this is the case • the preferred course of approach should be from a drift-off quadrant on a tangent course to the asset • the vessel’s approach speed must also be taken into consideration when approaching a 500m safety zone and be reduced accordingly in a timely manner • all vessels required to enter any 500m zone must adhere to company and client procedures and stop approximately 200m outside the 500m zone in a drift-off position prior to entering and completing all pre-entry checklists • all applicable company and client checklists should be addressed, in full, before requesting permission to

enter the 500m zone • the practice of completing checklists from distance and then approaching the 500m zone will no longer be acceptable • once a vessel has entered any given 500m zone, it is to proceed and manoeuvre at a safe speed with regards to the weather conditions at all times. As always within the 500m zone, Rule 6 of the Collision Avoidance Regulations (Colregs) apply: “Every vessel shall at all times proceed at a safe speed so that she can take proper and effective action to avoid collision and be stopped within a distance appropriate to the prevailing circumstances and conditions.” These will confirm the operational status of all associated equipment, and it will ensure that the vessel’s speed is appropriate immediately prior to entry. This will minimise the likelihood of an unsafe speed being inadvertently achieved on approach to a 500m zone or associated assets and hazards within that zone. Safety is always the priority and should never be compromised for speed.

CASING OPERATION AT OFFSHORE FACILITY During a casing lifting operation at an offshore facility, an AB broke his leg.

The AB had his leg caught under a bundle of casing while preparing for discharging to the installation. The incident occurred between two lifting operations while the ABs were in the process of preparing the slings for the next lift. It took about 15 minutes to release the AB from the casing. He was conscious throughout the incident but complained about pain in his leg. A helicopter medevac was required for transport to shore. At the time that the incident occurred, the slings were slack. This meant that the bundle of casing was not stable, allowing them to roll onto the AB’s leg. The AB was standing close to the bundle when it moved, causing his leg to get caught.

CORRECTIVE ACTIONS/ RECOMMENDATIONS

The corrective actions taken/ recommendations included: a briefing held onboard and vessel returned to port where a full investigation was carried out; keep a safe distance to tubular cargoes as far as practically possible; use a hook or similar for sling handling when possible; ensure that tubular cargoes are properly secured to ensure stability. Refer to GOMO Appendix 9-B Transport of Tubular Cargoes for further information. OSJ Offshore Support Journal | June 2016

48 | MARKET DATA

Statistics & trends Compiled using data and graphs provided by Seabrokers’ monthly market report Seabreeze

NORTH SEA DEPARTURES AND ARRIVALS

NORTH SEA AVERAGE RATES: APRIL 2016

DEPARTURES: Vessels that have recently left or are due to leave the North Sea spot market: