Boskalis Decides to Withdraw 24 Vessels

Dutch dredging and maritime company Boskalis has decided to take 24 vessels out of service in the 2016-2018 period through their scrapping, sale and lay-up, which will result in the loss of approximately 650 jobs worldwide during this period. 

Out of 24 vessels that will be taken out of service, ten are from the company’s dredging division and fourteen from the offshore energy one. These will include trailing suction hopper dredgers, cutter suction dredgers, anchor handling tugs and heavy transport vessels.

The decision comes as the company published its fleet rationalization study that was initiated “in light of deteriorating market conditions and an expected prolonged period of low energy and commodity prices”.

“The volume of work in the market has fallen sharply and this is putting pressure on the utilization rate of our vessels,” Peter Berdowski, CEO Boskalis, said.

The average age of the vessels earmarked for scrapping or sale is in excess of 30 years. Vessels offered for scrapping will be dismantled at certified shipyards in accordance with the Hong Kong Convention and Boskalis’ own standards, Boskalis said.

In addition, the company said that the workforce reduction will be absorbed through attrition and redeployment, where possible.