Norwegian owner of offshore support vessels Solstad has today confirmed what has earlier been reported in the Norwegian media.

Namely, the company said in its quarterly report that it would be laying up 10 more vessels, 13 in total, citing tough market conditions, which would, in turn, mean that around 300 workers will be laid off.

This will, Solstad offshore said, reduce the company’s operational expenses substantially, as it prepares for a longer period with reduced offshore activity.

The vessels in question will mainly be platform suppliers and anchor handlers, said Solstad.

Providing its view on the PSV segment, Solstad said that the sector is oversupplied and rates are below crew cost in the spot market. It also said that there are many new vessels expected to flood the PSV sector. This could push the prices further down unless some vessels are stacked to balance the supply.

As for the AHTS, Solstad said that the market was slow with no signs of improvement, hurt by over-supply of vessels in combination with reduced rig-activity.

The Norwegian shipowner said that its AHTS segment is highly dependent on future rig activity, and Petrobras start contracting again.

Solstad operates 45 vessels of which 19 are construction support vessels, 17 AHTS, and 9 PSVs. It also has one vessel under construction.

The company expects the gradual lay-up of the ten vessels will be complete by the end of 2015.

Source: www.offshoreenergytoday.com

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