Deep Sea Supply to lay up more vessels owing to weak market

Deep Sea Supply, an operator of offshore vessels, has announced it will lay up vessels that do not have any fixed activity in the next months as a consequence of the weak market. 

Deep Sea Supply already has 10 vessels in layup, all of them being Platform Supply Vessels (PSVs).

According to its third quarter 2015 financial report, in addition to laying up vessels to reduce costs, the company is also working to further reduce operating expenses for the vessels in operation.

At the end of the third quarter of 2015, Deep Sea Supply had 14 AHTS vessels and 25 PSVs in the fleet, in total 39 vessels. Of these vessels, 18 are owned 100% by the company and 21 vessels are owned 50% through a Joint Venture with BTG.

Deep Sea Supply on Friday posted a drop in  its third quarter 2015 revenues that totalled $33.6 million, versus $44 million in the corresponding period last year.

The company’s profit for the quarter was $0.88 million versus $6.2 million in the same period last year.

Further weakening of OSV market

During the third quarter of 2015, the company has experienced further weakening of the global OSV markets.

In Brazil, the situation remains difficult with reduced activity and foreign flagged vessels being blocked by vessels with local flag, Deep Sea Supply said. However, for some vessel categories Petrobras has taken actions to solve this situation, and the company says it expects blockings of 4 vessels to be lifted.

The North Sea spot market is challenging with unsustainable rate levels and low utilization, and many owners have chosen to lay up vessels instead of trading in the spot market, said the company.

The company noted in its report that it does not expect improvement in the market situation for OSVs in the short to medium term.

Offshore Energy Today Staff