Offshore

Back in the frame

For those still standing in Singapore there’s finally a brighter future for offshore

After a brutal decade Singapore’s offshore community has been able to glimpse a richer future, with a pick up in activity and a more optimistic global picture. The Clarksons Offshore Index

has reached a seven-year high of 80, supported by increasing offshore activity and the multi-year impacts on fleet supply of consolidation, restructuring, limited newbuilding and ongoing removals. “The upturn of 2022 already feels more entrenched and broader-based than the aborted gains of 2018/19,” commented Stephen Gordon, Clarksons Research’s managing director.

Despite recent oil price softening on fears of inflation-induced recession, Clarksons’ projections suggest utilisation across the offshore fleet will improve further. Global offshore drilling rig activity has bounced back to levels last recorded seven years ago. In late July, the Clarksons Research index of overall offshore drilling rig utilisation reached 85% for the first time since 2015. The active offshore rig count stood at 508 units on July 25, 2022, up by 8% since the start of the year, according to data from Clarksons’ research unit.

“Utilisation gains have generated rig market improvements, with our Clarksons rig rate index already up by 32% yearover-year to 104 points by the end of June – though it was still 38% below the start of 2014,” remarked Gordon.

Jackup utilisation is currently at 85%, with global demand up 5% since January 2022. Floater utilisation has also increased significantly in 2022, reaching 83% by late July, owing to increased market activity in the US Gulf, West Africa, and Brazil, where the number of active units rose to 57 by early July. While Singapore’s local offshore community is now feeling more buoyant, not everyone was able to stick around for the belated party.

At the start of the year two names who had been part of the offshore firmament for a long time were liquidated. Both Ezra Holdings and liftboat operator Ezion Holdings had been unable to attract new investors, each having been under judicial management for a number of years.

Another famous name in Singapore offshore circles also departed, but for different reasons.

Houston-headquartered OSV owner Tidewater paid $190m to acquire offshore vessel operator Swire Pacific Offshore, a subsidiary of Swire Pacific Limited. The deal added 50 vessels to the Tidewater fleet making it the world’s leading OSV operator with a fleet of 174 vessels.

In terms of key developments among the offshore players still standing in Singapore, PACC Offshore Services Holdings (POSH) has been expanding its fleet. It recently acquired a multipurpose offshore construction vessel from

Norway’s BOA Offshore. POSH said the addition of the 119 m long vessel, to be renamed POSH Deep C, will complement the existing fleet with capabilities including subsea installation works and turnkey towage and installation services for the floating offshore wind and energy sector.

“The acquisition of this versatile vessel is an important milestone in POSH’s transformation into a future-ready, sustainable solutions provider for the global energy sector,” noted Low Soon Teck, CEO of POSH.

POSH is part of the Kuok Group, with a diversified fleet of around 70 vessels. Also of note this year, POSH partnered with Aberdeen-headquartered mooring and marine service specialist First Marine Solutions (FMS) to explore growth opportunities for floating offshore wind in Europe, one of many notable shifts within the Singapore offshore community to embrace wind.

The deal follows POSH’s earlier move to shift its renewables focus away from operational support in the fixed wind

market into the development of the fastgrowing floating wind sector, with the sale of the Taiwanese offshore wind unit PKR

Offshore.

Meanwhile, Singapore-based offshore vessel owner Miclyn Express Offshore (MEO) has spent 2022 pressing ahead with its fleet rejuvenation programme having placed an order at compatriot Penguin Shipyard for five new executive crew boats.

The vessels are based on Penguin’s proprietary Flex-42X and Flex-40X designs and are set to deliver between 2023 and 2024. MEO said the Flex crew boats are designed as multi-role crew change vessels, capable of executing a variety of missions, including offshore crew change, security and escort, search and rescue, firefighting and medivac.

The latest order will increase MEO’s crew boat fleet size to over sixty-five units, deployed in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, affirming the group’s status as the region’s largest crew boat operator.

Elsewhere, Singapore-based Vallianz joined forces with Dutch shipbuilder and designer Royal IHC for the design and construction of a next generation service operation vessel (SOV) to support the operations and maintenance of offshore wind farms.

Designed by Royal IHC, the battery hybrid SOV features advanced levels of integration and autonomy with high operational efficiency that will, according to Vallianz, make the vessel the first of its kind in the industry. The SOV has been designed to be ready for “true zero emission operations” by using a full battery offshore charging system and alternative fuels for propulsion without sacrificing operational functionality.

The vessel will be constructed at Vallianz’s shipyard in Batam, Indonesia and managed by Hamburg-based ship manager Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement.

Vallianz has also moved to design and build a hybrid heavy transport vessel (HTV) for the offshore wind industry. The company has joined forces with ship designer Ulstein, Canadian energy storage specialist Shift Clean Energy, and class society Bureau Veritas as part of the project.

The HTV will be able to carry cargoes of up to 32,000 metric tonnes and deployed for transportation of structures such as monopiles, jackets, transition pieces and turbine blades to support offshore wind farm projects, as well as heavy structure modules for LNG and carry out floatover operations of offshore structures, Vallianz said. The 173.6 m long vessel will be driven by a hybrid power system consisting of alternative dual-fuelled engines and a fully-classed battery energy storage system. In addition, it will sport the customised Ulstein HX120 design, which is said to contribute to reduced energy consumption.

Finally in our roundup of local names in the sector, offshore vessel player and shipyard Marco Polo Marine has teamed up with ship designer Seatech to codevelop two new specialised offshore wind service, operation and maintenance vessels. The MP S80-20 service operation vessel (SOV) and the S83-21 commissioning service operation vessel (CSOV) have been designed to service the global offshore wind farm market. The vessels will be equipped with a full suite of daughter craft, elevator towers and skidding systems, and feature hybrid battery-based energy storage systems (ESS), enhanced automation, and drone-equipped capabilities. These features should cut fuel consumption and emissions by up to 15% to 20% as compared to a non-diesel electric hybrid vessel, the company noted.

The SOV and CSOV will be able to accommodate up to 60 persons and up to 110 persons respectively. The SOV will function as a mother ship for wind turbine technicians performing maintenance and service work at offshore

wind farms, while the CSOV is designed to support commissioning works during the construction of offshore wind farms, as well as their maintenance operations.

Marco Polo Marine has also teamed up with compatriot autonomous drone startup F-drones to co-develop what it said are the world’s first large-scale, electric aerial delivery drones for offshore wind farms.

The partnership will see both companies co-develop drones customised for deployment in the Asia Pacific, to send supplies and critical items to offshore wind installations. F-drones, which has been developing drones to deliver cargoes of up to 100 kg over 100 km, will offer its drone technology expertise, while Marco Polo Marine will provide technical operating and commercial capabilities in the offshore wind sector.