Offshore Industry Leaders 2014

industry leaders

2014 • A supplement to Offshore Support Journal

The 50 most influential people in the offshore support vessel industry – the trendsetters, dealmakers, innovators and individuals with a commitment to excellence, safety and meeting customer requirements

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Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014 I 1www.osjonline.com

comment

David Foxwell

Leaders take a long-term perspective

T his year OSJ’s Industry Leaders supplement

has been expanded from 25 leaders to

50 but even allowing for the additional

entries I am aware that there are a number of

individuals we haven’t included who might have

made the cut. It is important to point out that

the process of selecting the industry leaders is to

a large extent a personal one – it’s not based on

criteria such as the size of a company (or the net

wealth of the owner!) or the number of vessels

operated or their revenues or profit. Rather, it is

a reflection on who has done what during the

last 12 months and how the industry leaders we

have settled on have influenced the development

of their companies and the industry as whole in

the last year.

One noticeable feature of the supplement this

year is the growing number of leaders from

southeast Asia and the Asia Pacific region as a

whole. That reflects the increasingly international

operations of many companies based there. Not

many years ago, well-known companies based

in Singapore mainly operated vessels in that area

– nowadays, southeast Asian industry leaders

are operating globally, offshore West Africa and,

increasingly, in Mexico. There are also a number

of new entrants in northwest Europe such as

Herbjørn Hansson, who is best known in the

tanker market – which is where he made his

reputation – whose venture into offshore support

vessels looks like it could be equally successful.

Others include leaders such as Howard Woodcock,

who is leading Bibby Offshore from being a

mainly UK-based, North Sea oriented company

to becoming a global one, and Colin Parker,

chief executive at Aberdeen Harbour Board in

the UK. He has already overseen wide-ranging

improvements to the UK’s premier oil port, but the

next stage of work there could be on an altogether

different scale, with additional berthing facilities

at Nigg Bay, a project that Scottish government

describes as being of national importance.

I have also selected individuals from smaller,

less well-known companies, who are have

made their mark in 2014, such as Wes Bordelon

at Bordelon Marine in the US, and long-

serving individuals who are not vessel owners

but who have made a significant contribution

to framing the guidelines and regulations

that make everyone in the industry safer,

such as the International Marine Contractors

Association’s retiring technical advisor, Ian

Giddings. Another newcomer is Jeff Weber, at

Mermaid Marine Australia. Having acquired

one of the best known vessel owner/builders in

Southeast Asia, he is leading the company into

new markets. Most of the leading shipowners

in this supplement have, or are doing, the

same thing. Patrick Janssens’ name may not

be known around the industry quite in the

way that some of the ‘big beasts’ in the sector

are, but as highlighted in OSJ’s Guide to OSV

Shipbuilders, his company, De Hoop Shipyard,

has more offshore vessels on order than any

other European yard. Other individuals who

have been in the support vessel business for

years that have had a ‘big’ year include Jacques

de Chateauvieux, Bourbon’s former CEO, whose

investment company Jaccar successfully gained

control of the Bourbon this summer.

I’m pleased to be able to report that there

are more women represented in this year’s

Industry Leaders supplement, but not many

more. Hopefully this will change. A recent

workshop found that problems such as cultural

and gender discrimination, social bias, bullying

in the workplace and a lack of transparency are

common in the industry.

A lmost all of the industry leaders

represented here anticipate that 2015

will be a tough year, and 2014 was a

mixed one for many of them. The sharp decline

in the oil price means that many expect activity

to slow down in 2015 and volatility to increase.

There are a number of ways to deal with this.

Cutting costs is an obvious one; refocussing on

markets – such as the subsea sector – where

growth has been good, is another. However,

as several of the industry leaders active in

the subsea market note, they are increasingly

concerned about the effect that oil companies’

cost reduction measures may have and the

number of projects that are being pushed

further to the right or cancelled. Evidently

some companies – such as Maersk Supply

Service – continue to believe that investing

when the market is low, in anticipation of

better days, can pay dividends, witness Carsten

Plougmann Andersen’s company’s decision to

order six large anchor handling tug supply

vessels (with options for four more). What is

clear is that the industry leaders highlighted this

year invest for the long term, and they are not

dissuaded from doing so even when their share

price takes a battering. They will ride out any

downturn – however short or long it is – in what

has always been a cyclical market. OSJ

Supplement to Offshore Support Journal

Published December 2014

Editor: David Foxwellt: +44 1252 717 898e: [email protected]

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ISSN 1463-581X

©2014 Riviera Maritime Media Ltd

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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1

A s a journalist attending shipping

exhibitions you are often presented

with spec sheets and literature about

a huge number of new designs. More often

than not you never hear about those designs

again, and they are rarely ever built. Damen

Shipyards is different. In the last few years

it has developed a large number of designs

for offshore vessels, seismic vessels, cable lay

units and versatile designs that can be adapted

for a wide range of tasks. It has also introduced

a number of unique hullforms – such as the

Damen Axe Bow – and vessels for the offshore

wind market. All are being built in large

numbers, and not just in the Netherlands,

the company’s home base. Damen offshore

designs are now being built around the world.

That the designs the company develops

quickly come to be appreciated by owners and

built in series speaks volumes for the kind of

vessels the company produces. This ability to

home-in on new designs that meet owners’

needs, combined with its ability to mass

produce them, and work with partners around

the world who also build those designs, is

surely the key to its success. And the man

whose vision is at the heart of its success is

Kommer Damen, OSJ’s Industry Leader 2014.

Mr Damen’s company’s figures for 2013

speak for themselves: in that year it had an

annual turnover of €1.7 billion and had 32

yards worldwide, of which 17 are outside

the Netherlands. The company had 8,000

workers worldwide, including 5,000 outside

the Netherlands and delivered 170 tugs,

70 workboats, 15 offshore vessels, 55 high

speed craft and ferries, not forgetting barges,

dredging vessels, inland waterways vessels

and naval vessels and yachts.

Damen was established in 1927 by two

brothers. Nowadays, Damen Shipyards Group

has a leading position in shipbuilding worldwide,

with a presence in 35 countries. Damen has

become a multinational company, but one that

has never lost its family values or its respect for

its maritime heritage. The two brothers – Jan

and Rien Damen – started the company in a

shed next to the family home in 1922. Five years

later they formalised the company as Damen

Brothers. It remained a small but prominent

boatbuilder until Kommer Damen joined the

company. In 1969 Kommer Damen – who is

1

For a company that only entered the offshore vessel sector fairly recently, Kommer Damen’s Damen Shipyard Group is already enjoying significant success there

Kommer Damen’s concept finds favour offshore

Kommer Damen’s approach to shipbuilding has seen the company’s

designs adopted worldwide


Kommer Damen

chairman of Damen Shipyards Group nowadays

– acquired the company from his father and

introduced a modular shipbuilding concept into

the building of small boats and launches. This

concept of standardisation (now called The

Damen Standard) has a number of advantages,

such as reduced delivery times, reduced costs

and the use of proven designs. The concept was

an immediate success and in 1973 the expansion

of Damen Shipyards in Gorinchem began.

Damen continued growing and soon the

group started exporting. Because Gorinchem

was strategically placed for the dredging

industry, auxiliary equipment and workboats

were among the vessels built by the yard.

Damen’s dredging workboats quickly became

the standard in many foreign markets and

Mr Damen saw the opportunity to export

more of them. Later on Mr Damen took over

numerous yards specialising in niche markets

where he saw an opportunity to invest. The

company also began forming partnerships and

cooperating with yards all over the world, a

process that it continues to employ today.

Nowadays Mr Damen’s hugely successful

business has employees working at 35

companies worldwide. Since the introduction

of modular shipbuilding concept Damen

has built more than 5,000 vessels. Every

year, more than 150 vessels are built by the

company and at dedicated shipyards around

the world Damen mass produces standard

hulls for particularly popular vessel types –

including a fast-growing growing number of

offshore vessels.

A good example of Damen Shipyards

Groups’ export success was a deal it signed

earlier this year with Wilson Sons in Brazil for

two more Damen PSV 5000s, a contract that

further strengthened the already high level

of cooperation between Damen and Wilson

Sons which has seen Wilson Sons build vessels

locally using a Damen design, engineering and

material package. In fact, Damen and Wilson

Sons have been working together for more

than 20 years.

The PSV 5000s, 85m in length with a

breadth of 19m, have diesel-electric propulsion

with DP2 class dynamic positioning and were

designed to comply to with the specifications

of Petrobras, Brazil’s state-owned oil company,

for whom they will work. Interestingly, they

will have a travelling gantry crane fitted for

offshore operations. Future upgrades, such as

to the bulk handling system on board, have

also been taken into account in the design. The

vessels will be built at Wilson Sons Guarujá II

shipyard for Wilson Sons Ultratug, who will

operate the vessel on a six year plus six year

charter contract with Petrobras.

Another good example is a contract with

Atlantic Towing in Canada, which recently

confirmed it had secured a 10-year firm

contract (plus a total of 15 years of options at

the charterers’ discretion) with ExxonMobil

Canada Properties and Hibernia Management

and Development Company (HMDC) for four

new platform supply vessels (PSVs). Operating

from St John’s, Newfoundland, the first ships

for the contract will be delivered in 2016 and

will join Atlantic Towing’s fleet of eight offshore

support vessels in the Atlantic Canada region.

The new ships – to be designed and built by

Damen Shipyards Group in the Netherlands

– will deliver a number of environmental

benefits compared with older, conventional

vessels and will have Clean Design class

notation, a diesel-electric power plant, the

latest environmental control equipment, a

wave-piercing bow design and enhanced

levels of crew comfort. The ice-strengthened

PSV 5000 vessels from Damen are designed

specifically to operate in the challenging sub-

Arctic waters of the Hibernia and Hebron

oil fields, off Newfoundland and Labrador.

One of them will be equipped for inspection,

maintenance and repair work in addition to

acting as a straight supply vessel. All four

will share the same design platform, with the

first vessel due in service in the second half of

2016. The combination of the PSV 5000’s flare-

less bow, slender hull lines and diesel-electric

propulsion with azimuth stern drives will help

to minimise fuel consumption and emissions,

enhance seakeeping and dynamic positioning

performance and ensure crew comfort in

challenging sea conditions.

Among the latest customers for the Sea

Axe hullform developed by Damen is Mexican

offshore company Naviera Integral, which

signed a contract for four more Damen Fast

Crew Suppliers 5009 (FCS 5009) early in 2014.

The first two vessels ordered were delivered

from stock and handed over in Vietnam in

April 2014. The other two vessels are due to

be delivered in July 2015, and all four vessels

will operate in the Gulf of Mexico, under a

direct contract from PEMEX, Mexico’s state

oil company. By maximizing the waterline

length, reducing bow flare and increasing the

draft of the bow significantly, in the Axe Bow

Damen obtained a hull shape with a strikingly

low level of vertical accelerations, very much

reduced slamming and reduced resistance.

In 2013, Damen Shipyards Group secured

the sale of its first ‘Twin Axe’ catamaran, a

Damen High Speed Support Vessel (HSSV)

2610 for the offshore wind industry. The

contract was placed by Marineco UK. The Twin

Axe is a further development of the Sea Axe

concept that improves on the conventional

catamaran design with enhanced seakeeping

behaviour, resistance and much lower fuel

consumption. The raised work deck and Sea

Axe bows enable the vessel to keep up its

speed in high sea states, which is crucial for

the offshore wind industry, and the HSSV 2610

has ample working and storage space on deck

making it suitable for a variety of cargoes,

including containers. And with a fuel capacity

of 12,000 litres, the new vessel can be used to

transfer fuel to wind turbines.

Late June 2014 saw another example of

a new design from Damen, a DP2 cable lay

vessel, Nexus, which is being built for Van

Oord, launched at Damen Shipyards Galati.

This multipurpose vessel will install cables

on offshore windfarms and is based on the

Damen Offshore Carrier 7500 design. Another

version of the DOC design, a DOC 8500,

forms the basis of a newbuild cable lay vessel

that DeepOcean UK will take on a seven-

year charter agreement with Maersk Supply

Services. This versatile vessel will install and

bury cables using a 7,000 tonne carousel from

landfall to deepwater and in remote locations.

Even as these high spec vessels are being

built, Mr Damen’s company has taken the

decision to embark on the construction of

another innovative design, the first example of

a new type of ‘walk-to-work’ vessel, examples

of which could find applications in the offshore

wind and offshore oil and gas sectors.

Significant as his achievements at his own

company are, Mr Damen also has a number of

other roles in industry in the Netherlands. He

is a board member at the Dutch Shipbuilding

Association; a board member of Dutch

Maritime Network (NML); a member of the

supervisory board at Van Oord; he is on the

supervisory board of Platform Bèta Techniek;

and an Honorary Consul of the Federal States

of Mexico. OSJ

Among the latest Damen offshore vessels this one, CMM Gravity, was built for CMM

Kommer Damen

4 I Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014 www.osjonline.com

H erbjørn Hansson’s name is best known

in the tanker market – which is where

he made his reputation – but his

venture into offshore support vessels looks like

it could be equally successful. Mr Hansson

serves as the executive chairman and president

at Nordic American Offshore (NAO) Ltd. He was

the founder of Nordic American Tankers Ltd

(formerly Nordic American Tanker Shipping Ltd)

and has been its president and chief executive

officer since July 1995. He has been involved

in various aspects of the shipping industry and

international finance since 1970 and served as

chief economist of Intertanko.

Nordic American Offshore (NAO) Ltd was

listed on the New York Stock Exchange earlier

this year and made an excellent start to life as

a listed company, with its stock trading above

US$19, a significant premium to the IPO price

in June 2014. In addition, the company paid out

US$0.90 per share in dividends in total for the

first two quarters of 2014.

As Mr Hansson explained in a recent letter to

shareholders, when he and his colleagues set out

to create NAO at the end of 2013, “we wanted to

differentiate the company from the competition,

just as we have done with Nordic American

Tankers (NAT).”

As he noted, NAT has paid dividends for 68

consecutive quarters. “We focus on one type

of asset, a strong balance sheet, a low cash

breakeven level, with all operating cashflow to

be paid out to shareholders, a high free float

and a liquid stock,” he said of his approach.

“In addition to being able to buy and sell stock

when you desire, liquidity is important for

shareholders to ensure accurate valuation and

to reduce volatility.

“The distribution of NAO shares by way of

the dividend-in-kind by our sponsor, Nordic

American Tankers, has helped increase the NAO

shareholder base to about 35,000 individual

investors. This is in contrast to several of our

listed peers, who have between 2,000 and 3,000

shareholders. Liquidity in the company’s stock is

strong with between 1 per cent and 1.5 per cent

of the shares changing hands every day. Given

the premise that NAO was originally started less

than a year ago, it is very satisfactory to observe

that we already have such a large following.”

“So far, everything has developed as we

planned and communicated to investors,” said

Mr Hansson. “Our operational performance

has resulted in clients extending and renewing

contracts. The company has on order four

platform supply vessels (PSVs) to be delivered

from Norwegian yards during 2015 at which

time NAO will have 10 vessels in operation.

We have received positive feedback from our

customers regarding the operational quality

of our vessels and we already have inquiries

from customers for employment of the first

pair of vessels expected to be delivered in

January 2015.”

The four newbuildings to be delivered in

2015 are expected to be financed with the

proceeds from a recent IPO and with a credit

facility. This means that, as the vessels are

delivered, the dividend capacity of the company

will increase at various day rate levels.

Due to this approach, NAO has already been

able to establish itself firmly as a player in the

offshore supply vessel industry – in a very short

period of time – thanks to the sponsorship by

NAT, the manager of NAO.

Writing earlier in 2014, before the oil price

declined, Mr Hansson said he believed that

NAO was in an excellent position “to grow by

accretion”. After an acquisition of vessel(s), the

company will be able to pay a higher dividend

per share and produce higher earnings per

share than had such acquisition(s) not taken

place, he claimed. “We are actively looking for

acquisition opportunities that fit in with our

high-specification fleet … and I am hopeful that

NAO will grow significantly in the coming years

while generating strong total returns.”

In financial statements at the end of October,

the company declared a dividend of US$0.45 per

share for the third quarter of 2014, as previously

announced. This was the same dividend as for

the previous two quarters. This meant that,

since its establishment in late 2013, the start-

up company had paid three dividends totalling

US$1.35 per share.

As of the end of October 2014, the company

had 10 high quality PSVs – six in operation and

four being built at Norwegian shipyards. Two

of the newbuildings are due to be delivered in

January 2015, and the other two are expected

to be delivered during the third quarter of

2015. Including a planned expansion of the

credit facility, the company will have the

financial resources to take delivery of its four

newbuildings on order, thereby offsetting the

dilutive short-term impact in share count

following the June 2014 IPO. As of the end

of October 2014, the company had no net

debt, and its US$60 million credit facility has

not been drawn on. The IPO in June 2014

strengthened the equity of the company by

about $100 million, and its vessels were fully

utilised during the third quarter.

“We believe that lower oil prices, as we see

now, will have limited impact on our operations,”

said the company. “PSVs are critical to operating

offshore and represent a small part of overall

costs. The recent reduction in oil price may

affect future offshore exploration activities. It

should be noted that PSVs are part of the entire

lifecycle of an offshore oil field,” it said, also

noting that several of its vessels are suitable for

operations in the Arctic, where drilling activities

could expand. OSJ

Formed at the end of 2013, Nordic American Offshore has made an excellent start to life, guided by Herbjørn Hansson, the company’s executive chairman

Differentiation is key says start-up OSV owner

Herbjorn Hansson2 Herbjørn Hansson2

Herbjørn Hansson: “we focus on one type of asset, a strong balance sheet, and low cash breakeven level”

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3 Kristian Siem

S iem Industries’ early October

announcement that it had reached

a conditional agreement to acquire

Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft (FSG) came

as something of a surprise. Mr Siem is a leading

figure in the offshore vessel sector in Norway

and in northwest Europe as a whole through

Siem Offshore and Subsea 7. Siem Offshore has

two well intervention vessels under construction

at FSG, which is actually best known for

building roll-on/roll-off (roro) vessels (although

it has built seismic ships more recently), but his

venture into shipbuilding was unexpected.

Located in Flensburg, Germany, with 143

years of history and 800 dedicated employees,

FSG is a shipyard that, over time, has built a

solid reputation and market position in the

roro vessel segment. During the past few years,

the shipyard has expanded its product line to

include complex offshore vessels such as the

seismic vessels it recently built for Schlumberger

WesternGeco and the well intervention vessels

for Siem Offshore. FSG launched the second

of these two seismic ships for Schlumberger

WesternGeco, Amazon Conqueror, a sister vessel

to Amazon Warrior, in July 2014.

At the time that Mr Siem completed the

deal, FSG’s orderbook consisted of a ropax

ferry for CMAL in Scotland, the second seismic

vessel for Schlumberger WesternGeco, the two

well intervention vessels for Siem Offshore

and a liquefied natural gas-fuelled roro ferry

for SeaRoad in Australia. With the current

orderbook, FSG will be operating at full capacity

into the third quarter of 2016, which gives it

much better forward visibility than some yards.

In a statement issued at the time that the deal

was done, Siem Industries said it will continue

to build on the solid industrial traditions of

FSG and the quality of its workforce in order

to maintain and further develop the shipyard’s

position as what it called “a strong, long-term

player in the German and northern European

shipbuilding industry”.

Mr Siem has long been a leading figure in the

offshore vessel sector through his involvement

with Subsea 7 (see elsewhere in this issue)

and Siem Offshore. In addition to involvement

in these leading companies in the offshore

support vessel sector, Mr Siem’s company, Siem

Holdings, also holds shares in Star Reefers and

Siem Car Carriers and is active in a range of

other sectors in Sweden and Germany.

Kristian Siem was the founder of Siem

Industries and has been director and chairman

of the company since 1982. He is chairman of

Subsea 7 and Siem Capital AB and a director of

Siem Offshore, Siem Shipping, North Atlantic

Smaller Companies Investment Trust plc and

NKT Holding. Prior to that, he held several

management positions with the Fred Olsen

group in the US and Norway. He is a Norwegian

citizen and became chairman of the board of

directors of Subsea 7 in January 2011. He has

a degree in business economics and has been

active in the oil and gas industry since 1972.

Siem Industries is a diversified holding

company that operates through its autonomous

industrial subsidiaries and affiliates, which

are engaged in oil and gas services, ocean

transportation and shipping, along with satellite

positioning and navigation services, potash

mining, ethanol processing and distillers’ grain

production and financial investments.

Siem Industries describes its strategy as

focusing on long-term growth rather than

on short-term results. “We have a history

of active participation in the consolidation

and restructuring of different industries

including the offshore drilling industry (Wilrig,

Transocean), subsea construction industry

(Subsea 7), reefer shipping business (Star

Reefers) and the passenger cruise industry

(NCL, Norwegian Cruise Line),” said the

company. The company’s main subsidiaries and

investments include Subsea 7 (20.9 per cent

ownership), Siem Offshore (33.7 per cent),

Siem Shipping (doing business as Star Reefers,

73.5 per cent), Siem Car Carriers (100 per cent),

Siem Capital (64 per cent), Siem Investments

(100 per cent), Deusa International (49 per

cent), Veripos (21 per cent), GTL Resources

Ltd (beneficial 45 per cent) and Deep Seas

Insurance Ltd (51 per cent).

The company was formed in 1980, but the

group traces its history back to the 19th century.

It is incorporated in the Cayman Islands and has

executive offices in George Town, Cayman Islands.

A subsidiary, Siem Kapital, has offices in Oslo,

Norway, and another subsidiary, Siem Capital

UK Ltd, has offices in London, UK. The company

has approximately 500–700 shareholders. It was

listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange until 1999

and on the American Stock Exchange until 1998.

The Ores Trust is the largest shareholder of the

company with 66.1 per cent of the share capital.

The completion of the combination

of Subsea 7 and Acergy in January 2011

solidified Subsea 7’s role as one of the world’s

leading subsea engineering and construction

companies, conducting operations in all of the

major offshore oil and gas areas worldwide.

Subsea 7 has more than 12,000 employees,

operates a diversified, high specification fleet

of 45 vessels, utilises more than 150 remotely

operated vehicles (ROVs) and owns a number of

fabrication facilities in strategic locations. Siem

Industries beneficially owns 69,731,931 shares

of Subsea 7 or approximately 20.9 per cent of its

issued and outstanding shares.

Siem Offshore holds ownership or

management interests in about 45 vessels,

which includes newbuilds under construction

in Brazil and Norway. The vessels in operation

include large-capacity anchor-handling tug/

supply vessels, mid-size and large-size platform

supply vessels, multipurpose field and ROV

support vessels, supply/crew/standby vessels

located in Brazil, a well stimulation vessel and a

scientific drilling vessel. OSJ

Long known as a shipowner, 2014 saw Kristian Siem invest in a shipyard for the first time, when Siem Industries acquired Flensburger in Germany

Shipowner industrialist adds German yard to portfolio

2014 saw Kristian Siem move from shipowning into shipbuilding


D atuk Tiong Su Kouk has held a

majority shareholding in Nam

Cheong Dockyard since 1999, when

he assumed an active role in the management

of the company. He has more than 20 years’

experience in the shipbuilding industry and is

responsible for the group’s strategic direction

and shipbuilding operations at its yard in

Miri, Malaysia, and at contractors’ shipyards

in China.

Along with his extensive experience and

involvement in the shipbuilding industry, he

has built a wide network of Malaysian and

foreign business contacts over the years. He

also has played a significant role in steering

the group from being primarily involved

in the construction of barges and fishing

vessels in Malaysia to the building of offshore

support vessels (OSVs) and has transformed

the company into one of the leading builders

and suppliers of OSVs in Malaysia. He is also

the founder of CCK Consolidated Holdings

Berhad (CCK), a company listed on the

main market of Bursa Securities Malaysia

Bhd. Under his stewardship, CCK and its

subsidiaries have progressed from a small

family-run business to one of Sarawak’s

largest integrated poultry producers and

producers of frozen food.

Nam Cheong Ltd’s entry into the

shipbuilding industry began with the building

of fishing boats in the 1960s. In the mid-

80s, it first moved into OSVs and was the

first Malaysian shipbuilder to deliver a DP2

vessel in 2007. The company has successfully

expanded its presence in Singapore, Indonesia,

Vietnam, China, The Netherlands, India, the

US and the Middle East.

In mid-November, Nam Cheong reported

an 81 per cent increase in revenue to RM618.6

million (US$184.9 million) for the three

months ended 30 September 2014 from

RM341.2 million (US$102.0 million) in the

corresponding period in 2013. This robust top

line performance boosted net profit by 112 per

cent to a record RM125.6 million (US$37.5

million) from RM59.2 million (US$17.7

million) in the third quarter of 2013.

Mr Tiong said the company had achieved

what he described as this “outstanding result”,

its best quarter since Nam Cheong’s listing on

the SGX, as a result of a number of contract

wins. In fact, Nam Cheong has secured a

record-breaking number of orders – no less

than 25 vessels worth approximately US$505

million in the first three quarters of 2014.

“We also secured letters of intent worth

US$186 million for our proprietary diesel-

electric anchor-handling tug/supply vessels,

which we launched in October, despite

volatile oil prices and challenging conditions

in the wider market. This is a testament to our

customers’ faith in the group and represents

the strength of Nam Cheong’s position in the

industry’s value chain,” he said.

“Along with our record quarter, we also

set several significant milestones along the

way. We are in a position of strength and are

excited by the recent corporate developments

that have taken place such as our partnership

with Marco Polo Marine Ltd, with whom we

have formed a joint venture and a proposed

investment in their indirect subsidiary in

Indonesia. We believe this will strengthen our

position in the cabotage-protected Indonesian

market. With these strategies established,

we are well placed in our pursuit of being

a global player in the offshore and marine

industry and our goal of being the largest

OSV provider in the world by 2017.”

Nam Cheong’s core shipbuilding segment

recorded an 86 per cent surge to RM595.1

million (US$177.9 million) from RM319.7

million (US$95.6 million) in the third quarter

of 2013. This was largely contributed by

the increase in contracts (16 vessels in the

third quarter of 2014) compared with seven

vessels in the same quarter a year ago.

The net increase of one new vessel to Nam

Cheong’s fleet during the quarter resulted

in the group’s vessel chartering segment

seeing a 9 per cent increase in revenue to

RM23.5 million (US$7.0 million). Overall,

the group’s shipbuilding segment contributed

96 per cent of Nam Cheong’s revenue in

the quarter. Gross profit rose 70 per cent to

RM148.7 million (US$44.4 million) during

the quarter from RM87.3 million (US$26.1

million) in the same period in 2013, in line

with Nam Cheong’s revenue growth. Gross

profit margins for these two periods were

maintained at healthy levels of 24 per cent

and 26 per cent respectively. For the nine

months ended 30 September 2014, Nam

Cheong’s overall revenue rose by 65 per cent.

Despite concerns about the oil price, the

company is in confident mood and is used

to weathering downturns in the offshore

industry. It also continues to operate in the

resilient shallow-water segment, which it

deems almost as “recession proof” due to the

lower cost of oil production compared to the

deepwater segment.

The company continues to be optimistic on

Nam Cheong’s long-term growth prospects

and sees further demand for modern OSVs,

especially those equipped with fuel-efficient

features. OSJ

In November, Nam Cheong Dockyard reported a record third quarter, but that is nothing compared with Datuk Tiong Su Kouk’s ambitions for the company

Malaysian builder wants to be world’s largest

4Datuk Tiong Su Kouk

Datuk Tiong Su Kouk: “partnership with Marco Polo Marine will help Nam Cheong in the Indonesian market”

Nam Cheong recently introduced a new anchor handler design, the NCA80E


S hipping veteran Pang Yoke Min founded

Pacific Radiance – in which he holds

around a 65 per cent shareholding – in

2006 with Sunny Mok, a former colleague at

Jaya Holdings, a marine business that Mr Pang

co-founded in1981 and retired from after 25

years. He served as group managing director

of Jaya Holdings from 1981 to 2006 and also

served as head of business development and

management and as executive managing

director of the company.

Mr Pang became executive chairman

of Pacific Radiance in January 2013, after

having served as its principal adviser from

January 2012 to December 2012. He was

a non-executive director between January

2007 and December 2011 and is currently

responsible for the group’s overall strategic

direction and growth and has led its swift

transformation into a leading player in

the provision of offshore vessels. He has a

number of other interests including stakes

in Swiber Holdings, Global Yellow Pages

and Pacific Healthcare on whose board he

sits. Since founding Pacific Radiance, he has

initiated a major fleet-building programme,

diversified into marine equipment, invested

in the cabotage-protected Malaysian market

(via a joint venture with Alam Maritim

Resources), done likewise in Indonesia

(another cabotage market) by acquiring a

stake in local shipowning companies, entered

the inspection, maintenance and repair

market and entered into the Brazilian market

via Radiance Offshore Navegação.

In 2013, he listed the company on the

Singapore Exchange, and its Indonesian joint

venture PT Logindo Samudramakmur Tbk

achieved a listing on the Indonesian stock

exchange. 2013 also saw the company’s fleet

continue to expand to more than 130 wholly

and jointly owned offshore vessels as of

December 2013. The company Mr Pang leads

also has a shipbuilding and ship repair yard

under construction.

2014 has hardly been a less significant

one for Mr Pang and his company, which

has moved into the Mexican market, entered

into more joint venture agreements to exploit

other markets and declared options for two

more Ulstein PX121 platform supply vessels

at Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding and

Offshore Co Ltd, having ordered an initial

two PX121s in September 2013.

According to the company’s latest results, it is

on track for strong earnings in FY14 with earnings

supported by existing long-term charters, quick

deployment of newly delivered vessels and an

ongoing fleet rejuvenation programme.

Announcing its latest results, Mr Pang

said he believes that the company’s tested

business model positions it well to ride out

any decline in the offshore oil and gas cycle

and capture new market opportunities. The

company is also cautiously optimistic about

delivering steady growth as it continues to

enlarge its footprint in high growth and

cabotage-protected markets.

The company said it was on track to post

strong earnings for the current financial

year, after delivering robust results for the

first nine months ended 30 September 2014.

The group posted a 57 per cent increase in

net attributable profit (PATMI) to US$63.3

million for the first nine months of FY14,

after revenue came in at US$135.0 million.

The group’s offshore support services

division generated 19 per cent growth in

revenue to US$98.4 million. This growth

was offset partly by lower sales of US$28.4

million at the subsea division as diving

support vessels underwent drydocking for

enhancement work, which also affected

overall utilisation.

“Our strategy of maintaining a diversified

and market-relevant fleet, as well as building

our presence in high growth and cabotage

markets, has seen us through various oil and

gas cycles. As a result, we believe our tested

business model positions Pacific Radiance

well to ride out the current environment and

capture new market opportunities.”

PT Logindo, in which the group has a 35

per cent ownership, continued to perform

strongly, contributing US$6.0 million to the

share of results at joint ventures in the first

nine months of FY14, against US$5.5 million

in the previous corresponding period when

Pacific Radiance held a 49 per cent stake.

Mr Pang confirmed that the group is

looking to build up its presence in other

high growth and protected markets and,

in addition to the recent joint venture in

Mexico, has also set one up in Australia.

“We are cautiously optimistic of delivering

steady growth as we focus on executing

our strategy over the medium and long

term, while staying responsive and aligned

to changes in the business environment,” Mr

Pang concluded. OSJ

Under the leadership of founder Pang Yoke Min, Pacific Radiance has evolved from a regional player in Southeast Asia into a truly global one

Joint ventures put Pang in position to pursue growth

Pang Yoke Min5

Mr Pang sees joint ventures in high growth and cabotage-protected markets as a key part of his strategy

Heading north towards the frozen Arctic, Chief Officer Sunil and the rest of the Polarcus Naila crew ready themselves for their next seismic survey. But however brutal and unforgiving the environment, mechanical failure and downtime are still unacceptable. The stakes are simply too high.

WATCH THE FILM: youtu.be/xhZnZ3kiwFs

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FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION


O ctober 2014 saw Maersk Supply

Service order six large anchor-

handling tug/supply (AHTS) vessels

from Kleven Maritime in Norway. The order

for the vessels also includes options for up

to another four units. All will be of Salt

Ship Design.

Maersk Supply Service has long been a

leading operator of large, high spec AHTS

vessels. With the oil price plunging, short-

term demand for offshore vessels could fall,

but Maersk Supply Service’s CEO, Carsten

Plougmann Andersen and his colleagues are

evidently of the opinion that, in the medium

to long term, demand for high spec AHTS

vessels will grow – a sentiment that leading

brokers such as Clarkson Research Services

Ltd has also endorsed.

In the introduction to its most recent

AHTS vessel register, published earlier in

2014, Clarkson Research said it believed

that, despite the boom in orders for anchor

handlers in the last decade, the supply/

demand equation could tilt in favour once

again of owners of high spec vessels. As

Clarkson Research noted, the contracting

boom of 2006–2007 generated a large pool of

modern tonnage, but newbuilding contract

volumes have fallen in each of the past five

years, and the orderbook (at 175 vessels) is

at its lowest level since 2005.

As highlighted in the November 2014

issue of OSJ, Clarkson Research noted that

vessel supply has been an issue in the charter

market, but the reduced pace of newbuilding

deliveries and growing worldwide employment

opportunities for vessels mean that the

fundamentals now appear more encouraging.

“There is an increased focus for newer,

larger and more technologically advanced

vessels. New designs also stress efficiency

and address environmental regulations,” said

Clarkson Research.

Peak AHTS deliveries saw 282 AHTS vessels

entering the market in 2009 and 271 in 2010.

Since then, ordering and deliveries have fallen

away annually, and since 2011, ordering levels

could be said to be back to pre-boom levels.

The 82 newbuilding orders recorded in 2013

was the lowest annual total since 2003. At the

time of writing, figures for 2014 were not yet

available, but given the generally low level of

ordering of offshore vessels in 2014, relatively

few high spec AHTS vessels are likely to have

been ordered. The orderbook, which peaked at

763 vessels in February 2009, has steadily been

eroded and now stands at 175 units, its lowest

level since 2005.

“In the last 12 months,” said the broker,

“just 54 AHTS newbuilding contracts have been

recorded, and of these, just 10 have been for

units in excess of 12,000 bhp.

“This has left the delivery schedule for high

end AHTS units beyond the end of 2014 looking

a little limited,” said Clarkson Research. Hence

Mr Plougmann Andersen’s decision to invest

now, in anticipation of heightened demand a

couple of years from now. The first of the new

vessels is due to be delivered in the fourth

quarter of 2014.

Maersk Supply Service’s contract for the new

anchor handlers brings the company’s orderbook

to 12 – it already included five recently ordered

subsea support vessels and an anchor handler to

be delivered from shipyards in Romania, China

and Chile.

“With this contract, Maersk Supply Service

is once again placing a newbuilding order in

Norway,” said Mr Plougmann Andersen. “With

this order, we have taken the next step in our

extensive newbuilding programme, renewing

our fleet with a focus on large AHTS and subsea

vessels. The contract now concluded with

Kleven is an important part of the realisation

of our ambitious growth strategy.”

Describing the reasoning behind the

order and the specification of the vessels,

Mr Plougmann Andersen said, “The quest for

energy is becoming more complicated and

raising new challenges for oil companies.

“We want our customers to remain confident

that we are prepared to meet their demands and

provide premium service in terms of reliability,

safety and uptime. In our newbuilding project

with Kleven, we have carefully designed the

entire vessel with this in mind. An example

is the installation of the most fuel-efficient

and flexible hybrid propulsion system, with

fixed pitch on all side thrusters, providing

high reliability and back-up systems, good fuel

economy, low emissions and excellent station

keeping,” he said.

The new vessels will be 95m in length

with a beam of 25m and deadweight of

approximately 4,500 tonnes. The dynamic

positioning DP2 units will have a bollard pull

of a minimum of 230 tonnes. With a total free

deck area of 944m2, the 23,000 bhp vessels will

have a 500-tonne winch with a three-drum

configuration, a hangar for remotely operated

vehicles and accommodation for 52 people in

single cabins.

Maersk Supply Service’s subsea vessels

are of Marin Teknikk design and will be built

at Cosco (Dalian) Shipyard in China. The

vessels will be rated for operation in up to

3,000m of water. The first is due to delivered

in late 2016.The DP3 class vessels will have

a deadweight of 8,000 tonnes, a free deck

of 1,925m2 and a 500-tonne active heave

compensated crane. They will be capable of

being fitted with an underdeck carousel for

3,000 tonnes of product (optional) and will

be prepared for a 275-tonne vertical lay tower

over the moonpool. OSJ

Maersk Supply Service’s CEO believes that investing when the market is at a low, in anticipation of better days, can pay dividends – as other owners fret about the oil price, Maersk is investing heavily in preparation for when demand recovers

Plougmann Andersen bets big on AHTS and subsea markets

Carsten Plougmann Andersen6

Carsten Plougmann Andersen: “we want our customers to remain confident that we are prepared to meet their demands”


R aymond Kim Goh is the founder and

executive chairman of Swiber Group, a

director and non-executive chairman of

the board of Vallianz Holdings Ltd and is a non-

executive chairman of Kreuz Holdings Ltd. A

graduate of Murdoch University in Australia with

a Bachelor of Commerce in 1993, he founded

Swiber 18 years ago and is now a true ‘industry

veteran’ with close to two decades of experience

in the offshore oil and gas industry.

As founder and executive chairman of

the Swiber Group, Mr Goh is the key figure

leading Swiber’s overall business, operations and

marketing activities. He sets the long-term growth

strategy for Swiber Group and spearheads growth

initiatives to expand the company’s resources,

develop new markets and invest in new vessel

designs and technology.

Swiber focuses on providing engineering,

procurement, installation and construction

(EPIC) services, enhanced with marine support

and engineering capability, across the Asia Pacific

region, Middle East and Latin America regions.

According to the latest half-year results

presentation from the company, Swiber achieved

a net profit of US$63.0 million on sales of

US$418.8 million in HY2014. Net profit was

up 68.3 per cent. The company had a healthy

EBITDA margin increase of 13.2 percentage

points to 27.6 per cent and was actively bidding

for major projects and anticipated growth in its

orderbook over the final two quarters of 2014. At

the time of the presentation, its orderbook was

approximately US$610 million.

Mr Goh said the company would “remain

prudent” in managing its operations, maximising

cost efficiencies to provide value-added solutions

to its customers. The company also plans to

entrench its position as an experienced offshore

service provider and explore new opportunities

and leverage its existing track record. The

company said it plans to focus on winning new

contracts from major oil and gas players in

the Asia Pacific region, Latin America and the

Middle East and replicate its success in Southeast

Asia in other geographical regions and focus on

penetrating new markets.

In this respect, it is interesting to note

that Swiber Holdings Ltd is now flying the

Mexican flag on five of its vessels in Mexico as

reaffirmation of its long-term commitment to the

country’s rapidly growing oil and gas industry.

Swiber Concorde, a derrick pipelay barge,

was the first among the Swiber Group’s five

vessels in Mexico to raise the Mexican flag at

a ceremony on 18 August 2014 at the Port of

Seybaplaya, Campeche State. The reflagging was

an important milestone for Swiber Group – one

that demonstrates its commitment to delivering

a full suite of services for the ongoing

development of Mexico’s oil and gas industry as

the country rolls out its energy reforms.

Swiber hoisted the Mexican flag on the

derrick pipelay barge Aziz on 26 August and

on another three anchor-handling tug/supply

vessels. All five vessels were first deployed in

Mexico three years ago when Swiber landed

its first contract win in Latin America, with

the construction of a 77km submarine pipeline

project in Mexico for Pemex. Swiber has since

undertaken a number of offshore construction

projects in the region.

Recent months have seen Vallianz Holdings

make a number of important announcements,

including the extension of its geographic footprint,

the establishment of a marine base in Batam,

Indonesia, the expansion and diversification of

its fleet with two Ulstein-designed P128 platform

supply vessels, the acquisition of OER Holdings

Pte Ltd, a leading provider of manpower services

to the offshore industry, and the signing of a

three-year collaboration agreement with China

Offshore Oil Engineering Co Ltd (COOEC), the

largest offshore engineering and construction

company in China, under which Vallianz will

provide offshore support vessels and related

equipment to support COOEC’s offshore

construction activity and operations. OSJ

Since its formation approximately 18 years ago, Swiber Group has successfully transitioned from being a regional player into an international one, under the leadership of Raymond Kim Goh

Swiber founder rolls out successful strategy worldwide

7Raymond Kim Goh

The companies in which Mr Goh is involved are rapidly expanding their international footprint

Vallianz Holdings, of which Raymond Kim Goh

is a director and non-executive chairman,

is led by Darren Yeo, the company’s CEO.

The company was transformed in 2010, and

is focussing on building itself as a marine

support service company in the offshore oil

and gas industry.

In the last three years, the company’s

geographical presence has also grown rapidly,

and the injection of additional equity by Saudi

Arabian conglomerate Rawabi Holding, which

owns approximately 25 per cent of Vallianz, has

strengthened its shareholder base. Vallianz also

has more than 20 vessels operating in the Middle

East, and entered the Latin America market

in May 2014 with the award of a contract that

further boosted its orderbook.

The group’s financial performance has also

grown significantly. In the first quarter of 2014

Vallianz reported a profit of US$5.5 million, a

sharp rise from the US$1.3 million a year earlier.

Revenue jumped more than 10-fold over the

same period, to US$27.7 million, with 89 per

cent of its revenue from charter earnings.

Speaking to OSJ earlier this year, Mr Yeo

noted that, in the last three years Vallianz has

grown significantly, especially in the Middle East.

“Confident of the enormous growth potential of

the offshore industry, Rawabi Holding invested

US$35.2 million as equity. This made Rawabi our

second strategic investor after Swiber Holdings,”

he explained.

Yeo positions Vallianz for growth

12 I Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014

8

P art of the highly diversified Swire group

– many of whose core businesses can be

found in the Asia-Pacific region where

traditionally Swire’s operations have centred

on Hong Kong and mainland China – Swire

Pacific Offshore (SPO) is led by Neil Glenn, its

chief executive officer (CEO). Prior to becoming

managing director at SPO, Mr Glenn was the

company’s commercial director. A graduate

of Stanford University’s graduate school of

business, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts in

philosophy, politics and economics from Oxford

University in the UK.

Swire Pacific Offshore’s parent may have

its operations broadly centred in the Asia-

Pacific region, but it has vessels operating

in most of the major oil and gas provinces,

including the North Sea, the Gulf of Mexico,

West Africa and Australasia.

The first example of its G-class platform

supply vessels (PSVs), Pacific Gannet, was

formally named in Japan in September.

The naming ceremony was held at the

Japan Marine United Corporation (JMU)

Yokohama shipyard.

“The delivery of Pacific Gannet is another

important milestone in SPO’s long-term

partnership with JMU. This is the first of 10

G-class PSV vessels that SPO has commissioned

JMU to build over the next three years. The

addition of the G-class vessels will provide

another industry-leading product within our

fleet portfolio, helping us provide our global

clients with outstanding service,” said Mr Glenn.

The G-class series is the latest addition to

SPO’s fleet and was developed to meet the

increase in demand for PSV vessels from its

clients. Today, SPO operates a diverse fleet of

88 offshore support vessels, including anchor-

handling tug/supply vessels, platform supply

vessels, ice-breaking supply vessels, anchor-

handling tugs, seismic survey vessels, windfarm

installation vessels, accommodation barges and

multi-purpose offshore vessels. As part of its

fleet expansion plans, SPO aims to have a total

of 100 vessels by the end of 2015.

JMU has worked with SPO for a number of

years, completing the construction of its four-

vessel H-class 4,700 dwt PSV series in addition

to the L-class series of 5,200 dwt PSVs. The most

recent naming ceremony for one of its L-class

vessels, Pacific Legacy, was held on 17 July 2014.

The G-class vessels (4,000 dwt) are suited

for a wide range of supply duties in the offshore

industry. Powered by a diesel-electric propulsion

plant and equipped with contra-rotating azimuth

thrusters with variable-frequency drives, they

have a tank arrangement that allows for generous

liquid capacities, with 969m3 of cargo fuel. The

efficient hullform and bulbous bow shape also

ensure optimal fuel efficiency. The bulbous bow

design takes into consideration various operating

speeds, draughts and sea states that offshore

vessels typically operate in and is designed to

maximise its effectiveness over a wide range

rather than a tuned design point.

The vessels are certified with DP2, SPS

and Clean Class notations and have a high

environmental regularity number (ERN) of (99,

99, 99, 97). The 810m2 clear deck space is

designed to accommodate three lengths of drill

pipe or casing with safe access for the deck

crew and is able to facilitate a wide range of

project-required machinery and equipment. The

cabin outfitting is MLC 2006 compliant and can

accommodate up to 48 people.

October saw the company welcomes its third

L-class PSV, Pacific Legend, in a ceremony at Japan

Marine United Corporation’s Maizuru Shipyard.

Well suited for supply duties in deepwater

environments, the L-class vessels are designed

to deliver reliable, economical and flexible

solutions with their fuel-efficient modern design,

comprising fuel-efficient propulsion pods, a four-

engine diesel-electric power plant, large cargo-

carrying capacity and bulk cargo system. The

hull is designed for a 7.5-year window between

class-required mandatory dockings, and

propulsion and tunnel thrusters have been

selected for their ability to be changed out

when the vessel is afloat. The main deck has

a clear deck space of 912m2. The Cargomaxx

bulk system allows for the carriage of dry and

wet bulk cargoes in five separate tanks utilising

a pressure vacuum system to load and upload

the cargo and has a product-weighing system

to accurately measure a product delivered as an

individual parcel or as an aggregated amount

over a period of time. The first L-class, Pacific

Leader, was delivered in April 2014, and the

second vessel, Pacific Legacy, was delivered in

August 2014. The fourth vessel, Pacific Liberty,

will be delivered in early 2015. OSJ

Swire Pacific Offshore has seen several vessels added to its fleet, including the first example of its new G-class platform supply vessels – the latest in a stream of newbuilds

2014 sees Swire newbuild programme in full swing

Neil Glenn

Neil Glenn: “Pacific Gannet is the first of 10 G-class platform supply vessels”

Pacific Leader is one of a number of newbuilds to have joined SPO’s fleet

Innovati ve vessels Advanced equipment Life-cycle support

Royal IHC (IHC) is renowned as a reliable supplier of custom-built ships to meet the specifi c requirements of the off shore and marine industries. It enjoys a global reputati on for the design and constructi on of complete and complex integrated soluti ons for the toughest possible working conditi ons. IHC vessels are totally reliable, effi cient and fl exible to the demands of a wide range of wind, oil and gas projects, including those managed in extremely deep waters and remote Arcti c regions. In additi on, with its dedicated and comprehensive service off ering, IHC’s life-cycle support maximises the upti me and return on investment, and therefore reduces the total cost of ownership.

Royal IHC – Off shore P.O. Box 2162920 AE Krimpen aan den IJsselThe Netherlands

T +31 180 44 51 44F +31 180 44 51 99

off [email protected]

Reliable partner for effi cient off shore soluti ons


Innovati ve vessels Advanced equipment Life-cycle support

Royal IHC (IHC) is renowned as a reliable supplier of custom-built ships to meet the specifi c requirements of the off shore and marine industries. It enjoys a global reputati on for the design and constructi on of complete and complex integrated soluti ons for the toughest possible working conditi ons. IHC vessels are totally reliable, effi cient and fl exible to the demands of a wide range of wind, oil and gas projects, including those managed in extremely deep waters and remote Arcti c regions. In additi on, with its dedicated and comprehensive service off ering, IHC’s life-cycle support maximises the upti me and return on investment, and therefore reduces the total cost of ownership.

Royal IHC – Off shore P.O. Box 2162920 AE Krimpen aan den IJsselThe Netherlands

T +31 180 44 51 44F +31 180 44 51 99

off [email protected]

Reliable partner for effi cient off shore soluti ons

I n October 2014, following the acquisition of

all of the subsidiaries of Jaya Holdings Ltd

in June 2014, Mermaid Marine Australia

Ltd (MMA) announced plans to consolidate its

Australian and international operations under

a single new company name: MMA Offshore

Ltd. The man leading that change, who led the

acquisition of Jaya, is Jeff Weber, the company’s

managing director.

Since the acquisition of Jaya, MMA has

significantly expanded the scale of its global

operations, in particular, in Southeast Asia. The

consolidation of Mermaid Marine, Mermaid

Marine Asia and Jaya under the single brand

MMA Offshore will allow the company to more

effectively build brand equity as a global offshore

operator and, said Mr Weber, better represent the

company’s shared vision and future direction.

The reorganisation was not quite a ‘done

deal’ at the time this special supplement to OSJ

went to press but was expected to be completed

shortly. In order for MMA to change its name,

section 157(1) of the Corporations Act 2001

(Cth) requires a special resolution at a general

meeting of shareholders to approve the new

name (a special resolution is a resolution that

has been passed by at least 75 per cent of the

votes cast by shareholders entitled to vote on the

resolution). MMA was due to seek shareholder

approval at its Annual General Meeting on 18

November 2014 to change its name.

Explaining the rationale for the name change,

Mr Weber said the company wanted to consolidate

the Mermaid Marine and Jaya operations under

a single brand representative of the company’s

shared vision and future direction. He explained

that reference to ‘offshore’ denotes the fact that

the company operates in the broader offshore

oil and gas services industry and removal of

the word ‘Australia’ highlights the fact that

MMA is now a company operating in a broad

range of geographies. The use of MMA in the

name retains a legacy link to the company’s

heritage, and following extensive research and

risk assessment, the company concluded that

trading under the name Mermaid Marine was

not suitable due to potential brand confusion

with another operator in international markets

core to their business.

Subject to shareholder approval at the

meeting on 18 November 2014, the change

of name will take effect on the day that the

Australian Securities and Investments

Commission approves the change of name.

Notification must also be made to the ASX

of the name change, and an announcement

confirming this will also be made on that date.

In a recent presentation, Mr Weber

highlighted the company’s strategy of moving

further into the international support vessel

market and into owning and operating

higher specification vessels. In the full-year

FY2014 results presentation, he noted that

the company was seeking exposure to a range

of new markets with sufficient scale to drive

quality and profitability. The year had seen

strong performance from the company’s

vessel business offset by lower earnings from

its Dampier Supply Base. It had secured a

substantial long-term contract with INPEX

that will contribute in FY2016 and was well

positioned to take advantage of ongoing activity

in Australia and establish itself as a significant

player in the international market.

Mr Weber said the company’s strategy was

one focused on a diverse fleet with the ability to

move between key markets and moving to larger,

more specialised vessels including anchor-

handling tug/supply (AHTS) vessels, platform

supply vessels, multipurpose units and subsea/

inspection, maintenance and repair and support

vessels for remotely operated vehicles (ROVs).

The process of fleet optimisation is likely

to see selected disposals focusing on smaller

anchor-handling tugs, AHTS vessels and barges.

At the time the presentation was issued, the

company had six new vessels under construction.

The company also recently secured a contract

for the operation and management of the

accommodation vessel Silja Europa. The contract

will generate revenue of approximately A$105

million (US$92 million) over the 12-month

term, and there is an option for the client to

extend the contract. Silja Europa is a 202m cruise

ferry that, until recently, has been operating as a

leisure cruiser between Finland and Estonia. The

vessel has been modified for the new contract

and will accommodate up to 1,400 offshore

workers, including locally hired crew. The deal

was, Mr Weber said, “an example of the broad

and innovative marine solutions that MMA can

provide to its clients”.

Mr Weber began his career as a marine

engineer with BHP Transport. He went on

to complete a degree in this field in 1993,

and in 1994, he graduated with a master’s in

engineering and technology management from

the University of Queensland. During his 19

years with BHP, he gained comprehensive project

management experience and helped develop

new business for BHP Transport in Australia

and Southeast Asia. He also managed a major

initiative with BHP’s steel division, reviewing its

logistics arrangements and developing processes

to improve services and reduce costs.

In 1998, Mr Weber joined Riverside Marine

in Queensland and helped expand its operations

Australia-wide. This included forming a joint

venture company with Wijsmuller International

Towage BV, RiverWijs, and negotiating with

Woodside Petroleum to take over that company’s

harbour towage operation in Dampier,

Western Australia. Mr Weber is also a non-

executive director of Maritime Super Pty Ltd, a

superannuation fund dedicated to employees in

the maritime industry. OSJ

Having acquired one of the best known vessel owner/builders in Southeast Asia, Mermaid Marine Australia is expanding into new markets and vessels that it anticipates will be of interest to charterers worldwide

Weber leads MMA into a new, more international era

9Jeff Weber

Jeff Weber: “MMA Offshore is becoming more international and focusing on high spec vessels”


10 Geir Johan Bakke

Bakke takes Havyard brand to the Børs

2 014 was a notable year for Geir Johan

Bakke, president and CEO of Havyard

Group in Norway. Havyard Group

was listed on the Oslo Børs mid-year, after

majority owner Havila Holding announced a

plan for an IPO in February. 2014 also saw the

first example of Havyard’s new Wave Edition

vessels delivered to owner Fafnir Offshore.

Family-owned Havila Holding has a

broad range of interests in the offshore

supply sector and saw a need to optimise

conditions for continued growth for Havyard

Group. Its solution was to reduce the level

of its ownership in the company, believing

that Havyard has significant potential for

growth but that the further development

of the company required more than the

family-owned company could contribute. The

company’s decision did not constitute a loss

of faith in Havyard Group – quite the opposite

– and following the IPO and listing, Havila

Holding still held approximately 63.5 per cent

of the shares in Havyard Group ASA.

Havyard Group president and CEO Geir

Johan Bakke explained that Havyard has

always had a long-term perspective and had

long focused on building an international ship

technology group.

“Havila Holding was a great owner that has

supported and enabled us to develop from a

local, Norwegian shipyard to an international

brand supplying ship equipment, ship design

and shipbuilding. As majority owner, they

will continue to influence us, but we have

also got many new stakeholders to relate to,”

said Mr Bakke.

The latest vessel built by the company was

named in Fosnavåg on 6 November, with the

distinction of having Norway’s minister of

finance Siv Jensen as sponsor. The vessel was

built for Nigerian company Marine Platforms

Ltd and is a Havyard 857 subsea vessel, but

perhaps the most important vessel delivered

this year by the company is Polarsyssel, a

Havyard 832 L WE design for Fafnir Offshore

that went straight into an assignment for the

Governor of Svalbard on delivery.

The vessel is important, as the ‘WE’ suffix

suggests, because it is the first example of

the Havyard 832 L Wave Edition designs

– a design concept in which Havyard has

invested considerable time and resources.

The Wave Edition design concept is the

result of in-depth research into the parameters

of modern offshore vessels – research that

continues to be conducted in order to refine

models used in the design process.

Polarsyssel was the first WE design, but

there are others to follow. In fact, a number

of WEs have now been ordered. Polarsyssel is

an ice-class platform supply vessel, and other

examples of vessels that make use of the WE

concept include two vessels for Esvagt, which

are configured to provide support services for

offshore windfarms.

Mr Bakke said Havyard Group took a

“different approach” to designing the WE

vessels and describes them as the result

of a “first principles” approach and “pre-

studies” honing in on where a vessel will

operate and on the conditions it can expect

to encounter there. This kind of approach

might seem to be a logical one to take, but

the company believes it is rarely given the

attention it deserves.

Havyard Group’s philosophy is to produce

designs that are optimised for the conditions

they will encounter most of the time but are

units that will also work equally well in harsh

conditions. For the WE design, the company

“went back to basics” and obtained in-depth

data about conditions in the North Sea. It

regarded the way it went about designing

the new-generation vessel as being almost

as important as the design itself – it wanted

to obtain all of the data it could about

conditions in the area in which the vessel

would operate in order to use it as a tool to

develop the parameters of the new design.

Once it had done that, it ran lots of

simulations and a lot of model tests at

Marintek in Norway and at Maritime

Research Institute Netherlands (Marin) in

the Netherlands, comparing the performance

of the existing version of the Havyard 832

with the WE version.

The company decided that the most

sensible thing to do was to construct a

ship that had optimal fuel economy in the

conditions it would face most of the time. Not

unreasonably, it believes that it is impossible

to design a ship that functions at an optimal

level in all conditions because there are so

many parameters to take into consideration

– different combinations of waves, wind,

currents, speed and cargo, for example.

The design concept that came out of

this process went through several iterations

before being exhaustively model tested.

Havyard’s experience with an earlier design,

Havila Charisma, also proved invaluable, as

has a focus on full-scale tests of newbuildings

as they come out of the yard. The Havyard

833 L vessel is currently working in the North

Sea, and the feedback from the owner has

been extremely positive.

The result of all of this work – the

Havyard 832 WE – is a vessel in which

fuel consumption, emissions and slamming

have been minimised, with softer motions

than its predecessor and enhanced comfort

for those on board. The innovation doesn’t

stop there, however. The next vessel that

Havyard is building for Fafnir will also have

an innovative battery-augmented propulsion

system. OSJ

Havyard CEO Geir Johann Bakke believes a wider range of shareholders will be good for the ongoing development of the design, equipment and shipbuilding group

Havyard has evolved from a Norwegian shipyard to an international brand


2 014 has been a busy year for

UK-based Bibby Offshore, the oil

and gas services business, which is a

subsidiary of Bibby Line Group. The company

has expanded in the UK, Norway and the

US and has won awards, and the group

has won a number of important contracts

and chartered-in new assets. Most recently,

the company’s Houston-based division, Bibby

Subsea, announced that it was investing

in a custom-built office and making key

appointments as a result of continued growth

in the region.

The new premises, which include a

warehouse and workshop area, will allow

for further expansion in the US and will

be complemented by a recruitment drive

that should increase the number of Bibby

Subsea staff in the region by more than 70.

The company has experienced significant

client demand for its service offering, which

continues to increase across North America.

Under chief executive Howard Woodcock,

Bibby Offshore has grown significantly in

the last decade and currently employs more

than 1,450 people on shore and offshore

worldwide, with offices in Aberdeen,

Liverpool, Newcastle, Singapore, Trinidad,

Houston and Norway. The company has an

international fleet of subsea support vessels

and a growing number of remotely operated

vehicles (ROVs). In February 2014, Bibby

Offshore won the Company of the Year award

at the 2014 Subsea Expo Awards, an award

that recognises excellence in overall company

performance in the subsea sector as well as

plans for future growth both within the UK

and internationally.

Speaking to OSJ earlier this year, Mr

Woodock noted that the subsea industry was

going through a particularly busy period at

the moment. This has created opportunities

for companies such as Bibby Offshore. The

ongoing expansion of the company in 2014

follows a highly successful year for Bibby

Offshore in 2013.

Mr Woodcock explained that the company

had positioned itself in a niche between the

leading contractors such as Subsea 7 and

Technip and smaller outfits that do not have

Bibby Offshore’s international reach or access

to equipment, vessels and personnel.

“Nowadays, we actually do most of what

the bigger contractors do, with the exception

of rigid pipelay,” Mr Woodcock told OSJ.

Bibby Offshore has long been active in the

dive support market and in inspection,

maintenance and repair (IMR) and has added

to its growing capability with the delivery of

a flexlay system.

“A large part of what we are doing is

still based in the North Sea,” Mr Woodcock

said, “but increasingly, we are also working

outside the North Sea – for instance, in Asia,

where we have been established since 2009.”

The company opened an office in Houston

in October of 2013, offering ROV services in

the Gulf of Mexico market. As highlighted

above, this division of Bibby Offshore has

gone from strength to strength since its

launch. As Mr Woodcock noted, the US-based

division of the company can provide all of

the services that you would expect of a high

quality, fully integrated service provider.

Back in the UK, another division of the

company, Bibby Remote Intervention Ltd

(BRIL), is also in growth mode. At the end

of 2013, it expanded its fleet by signing a

charter agreement for the vessel Olympic Ares.

As also highlighted above, Bibby Offshore

opened an office in Stavanger, Norway,

earlier in 2014. The office is headed by

Arne Lier, who is leading the recruitment

of further key positions in order to increase

the total headcount to approximately 30

during 2015. Mr Woodcock said the office

in Norway was recognition of the size and

opportunity of the offshore market in the

North Sea and specifically in the Norwegian

Continental Shelf. “Norway is a very

important marketplace for us to operate in as

the company looks to grow and expand our

international presence,” he said.

In September 2014, Bibby Offshore

was recognised at the 2014 Northern Star

Business Awards, winning in the categories

‘Commitment to People Development’ and

‘Outstanding Contribution to the Energy

Sector’. At the time of writing, the company

had an international fleet of seven subsea

support vessels and 16 ROVs, with another

vessel due to join its fleet in 2015. OSJ

Led by Howard Woodcock, the company’s chief executive, Bibby Offshore is continuing to expand into new markets in Norway, the US and elsewhere

11Howard Woodcock

Expansion sees subsea firm enter new markets

Howard Woodcock has led the development of Bibby Offshore from a UK contractor to an international one

Bibby Offshore is expanding rapidly into new, international markets


A s of 30 June 2014, PACC Offshore

Services (Posh, which is owned by

Malaysian billionaire Robert Kuok)

operated a combined fleet of 110 vessels

with another 19 vessels on order, comprising

anchor-handling tug/supply vessels, anchor-

handling tugs, platform supply vessels,

accommodation vessels, harbour tugs and

crane and deck barges.

Posh’s chief executive officer and executive

director Kang Hoe Seow, also known as

Gerald, has been its executive director since

March 2006 and is responsible for leading

the development and execution of Posh’s

overall business strategy. He is also responsible

for day-to-day management decisions and

implementation of Posh’s long-term and

short-term plans. Mr Seow also serves as CEO

of DDW-PaxOcean Asia Pte Ltd, managing

director of Posh Semco Pte Ltd and executive

director of PACC Container Line Pte Ltd. Mr

Seow has more than 40 years of experience in

the shipping industry (including 15 years of

sea-going experience and more than 20 years

of senior management experience).

For the first six months of 2014 ending

30 June, Posh had a net attributable profit

of US$48.5 million, up about 1 per cent

from US$48.2 million in the previous

corresponding period.

Group revenue in the first half of the year

fell 5 per cent to US$111.2 million due mainly

to the injection of deepwater transportation and

installation (T&I) operations into a joint venture

in the second quarter of 2013. Consequently,

revenue that was recorded as part of group

revenue in the first half of 2013 was accounted

as share of profit in the joint venture in the

current financial year.

Gross profit was unchanged at US$33.4

million, while other operating income rose 52

per cent to US$42.4 million. The latter was

due to higher gains on disposal of assets. Net

attributable profit would have been higher if not

for the negative impact from the group’s joint

ventures in Mexico. The group’s share of profit

from joint ventures (JVs) decreased from a profit

of US$5.9 million to a loss of US$2.9 million,

due mainly to a negative contribution of US$7.5

million from its Mexican JVs.

All of the company’s business segments

recorded higher gross profit margins in the

first six months except for harbour services

and emergency response (HSER), which saw a

decline in gross profit margin from 47.6 per cent

to 16.6 per cent. This is due mainly to the group

establishing market share with its new harbour

towage licence and lower salvage income.

Offshore supply vessels (OSVs) continued

to be the group’s largest contributing segment.

Revenue from OSVs was up 25.7 per cent to

US$62.1 million, while revenue for offshore

accommodation rose 3.5 per cent to US$13.6

million. The T&I and HSER segments recorded

lower revenue, down 41.3 per cent to US$24.5

million and down 14.0 per cent to US$11.0

million respectively.

Mr Seow said the first-half results showed

that the company’s earnings remained sound

and the business remained resilient. “The

double-digit growth in our OSV segment is

encouraging and affirms our strategy of growing

this business. We will continue to focus on

maximising the utilisation of our vessels even as

we optimise their mix and number within our

fleet,” he explained.

Mr Seow said the outlook for the industry

remained bright with overall growth in offshore

capex expected to be driven by key markets,

namely Africa, the Middle East and the Caspian

region, and Australasia. Market analysts Infield

has projected that the compound annual growth

rate for these regions will be 27.2 per cent, 15.0

per cent and 14.9 per cent respectively, although

those figures were produced some time before

the recent steep decline in oil prices. “Our ability

to generate earnings will allow us to expand

and upgrade our fleet with more sophisticated

technology and equipment,” Mr Seow said.

For the second quarter ended 30 June 2014,

group net attributable profit was US$11.9

million, down 57 per cent from US$27.4 million

in the previous corresponding quarter. The

decline was due to lower operating income,

higher expenses and a drop in share of joint

ventures results. Revenue was US$58.3 million,

down 4 per cent from US$60.6 million in the

second quarter of 2013.

Commenting on the factors that will

potentially affect the group, Posh noted that

the deepwater expenditure sector is set to grow,

driven primarily by Africa and the Americas.

Although rising costs have delayed some

projects earlier this year, the company said it is

expected that spending in deepwater activities

will continue to grow but with a more targeted

focus. Shallow-water activities remain robust

with 80 per cent of offshore oil fields to be

developed being in shallow waters.

Mr Seow said the group will continue

to optimise the mix and number of vessels

within its fleet by disposing of older and

lower specification vessels and building new

vessels with more sophisticated technology and

equipment. As at 30 June 2014, the group’s

construction in progress amounted to US$443.0

million, representing 19 vessels on order to be

delivered over the next two years.

In April, the company undertook what was

understood to be one of the largest initial public

offerings in the region. OSJ

Singapore-based Posh operates a range of vessels including harbour tugs and salvage vessels, but its CEO and executive director Gerald Seow sees OSVs as offering most potential going forward

Seow sees good margins in offshore vessel business

Gerald Seow12

Gerald Seow: “Posh will continue to optimise the mix of vessels in its fleet”

• 5 Shipyards with14 Dry Docks• Good maritime strategic locations• Up to VLCC DD Size• Operating 24/7 • 47 years of maritime experience• An Engineering Hub• Over 2 Kms of repairing Berth• Over 2 Kms of repairing Berth• Adequate draft and easy access from open seas• Achieved Credibility on Safety and on honouring deadlines

Certifications: ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISPS

N e w C e r t i f i c a t i o n s


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A s highlighted in the 2013 edition of

OSJ Industry Leaders, compared with

other Norwegian yards, Kleven Group

has a very different approach to its future

as a shipbuilder, and its results would seem

to indicate the company is making the right

decisions. Instead of complete vessel hulls,

it only imports blocks, an approach that the

company’s chairman, Kjersti Kleven, believes

improves quality and allows quicker and easier

installation of machinery.

However, the company has recently taken

its strategy a step further and has ‘repatriated’

even more construction work, and at its Kleven

Verft yard in Ulsteinvik, work is progressing on

a major expansion of the building hall and the

installation of robotised, automated welding

lines. Ms Kleven and her management believe

that this will permit even more steel work to be

done there at lower cost and without the need to

transport blocks from abroad.

As she once put it in a presentation,

Norwegian shipyards’ strategy of outsourcing

hulls to Eastern European countries 15–20 years

ago was a high risk strategy – her preferred

strategy has been “back-sourcing” construction

of complex blocks for the hulls of the vessels

it builds, and to do this, it needed to invest

in automated production technology. This is

a strategy, she said, that echoes the approach

adopted by one of her forebears, Marius Kleven,

who said, “We shall maintain the highest

possible standards in our work, and we shall

always be reliable.” Apart from quality, she

said, the company’s approach has a number

of other advantages, such as shorter delivery

times, reduced costs, “greener” production and

a “greener” end product.

Kleven’s two shipyards (it also owns the

Myklebust Yard in Gursken) produced seven

vessels in 2012 and kept up this kind of pace of

construction in 2013. It has secured orders for a

good number of vessels in 2014 and continues

to benefit from Ms Kleven’s policy of investing

for future competitiveness. The firm remains a

family-owned, public company.

Ms Kleven trained as a sociologist and

specialised in organisational studies. She

worked as a researcher for the Norwegian

Institute for Labour and Social Research, as a

human resources manager at Rolls-Royce and

as a project manager at the Nordvest Forum.

She grew up in shipbuilding and is the third

generation of Klevens at the shipbuilding group.

She has been chairman of the board since

2002, and in 2005, she left her role as a project

manager at the Nordvest Forum to devote more

time to Kleven and the family’s investment

company, John Kleven AS. Since 2002, she

has also taken on more board positions at

Telenor and Ekornes, and since May 2013,

she has been chairman of the board of the

Federation of Norwegian Industries, of which

2,550 Norwegian companies are members. The

Kleven family still owns around 90 per cent of

the shares in the company.

The company’s order intake in 2014 has been

very impressive. The highlight was an order for

six anchor-handling tug/supply (AHTS) vessels

for Maersk Supply Service – a deal that includes

options for up to four additional vessels. The

95m long vessels are of SALT 200 AHTS design

and will be built at Kleven Verft and Myklebust

Verft. The first six vessels are due to be delivered

between the first quarter of 2016 and third

quarter of 2017. If all options are declared, the

last vessel in the series will be delivered early

in 2018, giving the company a tremendous

backlog and forward visibility. Apart from the

two Kleven yards, a number of Norwegian

equipment manufacturers and suppliers will be

involved with the project, creating value widely

in the Norwegian maritime community.

Kleven also recently signed a contract with

diamond company De Beers Marine Namibia,

part of De Beers Group, for the construction

of a highly specialised vessel for deepwater

mineral exploration. The first-of-its-kind

vessel will be of MT 6022 design from Marin

Teknikk, a design that is well proven in the

offshore construction segment. The newbuild

for De Beers will be tailored to a rather

different role, with purpose-built equipment

and features. Including this latest order,

Kleven’s orderbook as of the end of October

stood at 18 vessels and had a total value of

around NKr12 billion (US$1.7 billion).

Such is the group’s reputation that it is

also winning orders from overseas, including

a recent shipbuilding contract with Malaysia-

based joint venture company IES Pioneer Ltd

for a Marin Teknikk MT 6015 multipurpose

platform supply vessel. The contract was

Kleven’s first from a client in Southeast Asia,

a fact that Ms Kleven and her colleagues

believe shows that the yards are competitive

worldwide “based on our quality, punctuality

and price”. Other newbuild contracts were

secured during 2014 from leading owners

such as Olympic Shipping, Rem Offshore and

Volstad Maritime.

The Kleven Group’s most recent order

is not a newbuild but an extensive upgrade

package for a vessel and will see Myklebust

Verft undertake extensive modifications to the

vessel Aker Wayfarer to turn the ship into a

deepwater subsea support vessel. The contract

was placed by Ocean Yield, and the vessel is on

a long-term charter with AKOFS Offshore. The

modifications that Myklebust Verft undertakes

will allow the vessel to install and retrieve

subsea trees and modules, including subsea

structures and manifolds. OSJ

Kleven Verft has always had a very close working relationship with some of the best known Norwegian shipowners, and its strategy of building in house, rather than subcontracting hulls, has certainly paid off

13Kjersti Kleven

Order intake proves Kleven’s strategy was the right one

Kjersti Kleven’s back-sourcing strategy and investment in new technology continues to pay off

www.osjonline.com

14 Gary Chouest

G ary Chouest hardly needs an

introduction to OSJ’s readers or anyone

in the offshore vessel industry. As

president and chief executive officer of the

Edison Chouest Offshore family of companies

in Galliano, Louisiana, Gary Chouest runs a

conglomerate that builds, owns and operates

offshore vessels and employs many thousands

of people worldwide.

Edison Chouest Offshore evolved from a

two-vessel shrimping operation founded by

Edison Chouest Sr (Gary Chouest’s father)

in the 1950s to one of the premier owners

and operators of offshore vessels in the world.

Mr Chouest joined the company full-time at

age 19 and has since worked in all capacities,

starting out as a deckhand and working his way

up to captain.

He was also instrumental in the formation

of North American Shipbuilding in 1974. The

shipyard was founded in response to clients’

demands for higher quality and more specialised

vessels. Located in Larose, Louisiana, the facility

builds only for Chouest-affiliated companies.

Following the success of North American

Shipbuilding, Mr Chouest opened up five

more shipyards: North American Fabricators

(Houma, Louisiana), Gulf Ship (Gulfport,

Mississippi), NavShip (Brazil), Tampa Ship

(Tampa, Florida) and, most recently, LA Ship in

Houma, Louisiana.

In 1996, Mr Chouest entered into a new

business with the formation of C-Port. C-Port

stands as the hub of Port Fourchon, the Gulf

of Mexico’s premier deepwater port. Purpose-

designed to reduce port turnaround time, the two

C-Port terminals comprise 18 specialised slips

configured to safely and efficiently transfer cargo

and provide a wide range of support services to

accommodate the largest of deepwater offshore

vessels. Mr Chouest was also instrumental in

the formation of Marine Technologies, which

provides customers with a wide range of

dynamic positioning products and complete

vessel control systems. In 2007, he founded

C-Innovation, which provides a wide range of

remotely operated vehicle services, including

subsea construction, field development,

engineering and project management.

In September 2014, Mr Chouest’s company

provided an update on its plans for B-Port

in Brazil, which is modelled after innovative

Gulf of Mexico terminal C-Port. The company

confirmed that construction had begun on the

massive logistics support base and repair yard

for its own vessels at the Port of Açu in São João

da Barra in northern Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Earlier in 2014, Mr Chouest’s company

signed an agreement with Prumo Logistica

for the lease for the port property, amending

their agreement to include a total area of

574,200m2 of land if all future contract

options are exercised. Construction work had

been underway for several months at the

time that the announcement was made, with

the expected start of operations due to take

place during the first half of 2015. The facility

is located near the growing Campos Basin.

Inside and out, B-Port can support a total of

15 vessels simultaneously.

The new facility will have a total of 10

covered slips, nine of which will be 25.2m wide,

each with two 25-tonne overhead cranes, and

one – a heavy-lift slip – will be 38.4m wide with

two 100-tonne overhead cranes. In addition to

the covered slips, the straight docks provide

more than 525m, which can easily accommodate

five large platform supply vessels (PSVs).

Located in the south breakwater of Açu

Port’s Terminal 2, B-Port will also have a floating

drydock with a lifting capacity of 13,700 tonnes.

2014 also saw Edison Chouest Offshore

acquire the remaining assets of Bee Mar LLC,

an acquisition that is understood to consist

of seven vessels: three 270 class and four 300

class PSVs. The vessels are currently being

built at Bollinger Marine Fabricators and are in

different stages of construction.

This last year also saw members of the

Chouest family acquire Westport Shipyard,

the largest yacht builder in North America.

Celebrating 50 years of business in 2014,

Westport maintains three locations in

Washington state as well as a marina and sales

office in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and employs

more than 400 people. Westport has completed

more than 120 yachts since 2000. One of those

customers was Gary Chouest. OSJ

2015 will see companies owned by offshore vessel billionaire Gary Chouest open a new logistics facility in Brazil that is modelled on a similar facility in Port Fourchon

Chouest invests in Brazilian base

Gary Chouest’s latest venture sees his company building a large supply base for offshore vessels in Brazil

B-Port will be able to support 15 vessels simultaneously

Courtesy of Baker Hughes

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Håvard Ulstein15

O ne of the best known Norwegian

companies owning and operating

offshore support vessels, Island

Offshore group has 27 vessels ranging from

platform supply vessels (PSVs) to anchor

handlers to well stimulation, subsea and light

well intervention units and has a leading

position in a number of market segments. It

has a newbuilding programme that includes an

additional seven vessels to be delivered in 2014,

2015 and 2016. In addition to this programme,

the company also has a top-hole drilling vessel

on order at Kawasaki Heavy Industries in Japan

for delivery in March 2017.

The company’s net working capital

was strengthened in April 2014 following

completion of an NKr200 million (US$29.4

million) tap bond issue, the proceeds of

which will be used to finance the company’s

investment programme and strengthen the

over¬all financial position of the group.

Details of the company’s third quarter

were not available at the time of writing, but

in the second quarter, it secured additional

term contracts for its PSV fleet, adding to an

already high level of contract coverage and

order backlog. The company said it expected

the spot market for PSVs and anchor-handling

tug/supply (AHTS) vessels to remain volatile

in coming quarters (a statement issued before

the recent steep fall in the oil price). At

the time that the second-quarter results were

published, it was focusing on securing long-

term commitments for vessels to be delivered

and vessels completing contracts in 2014.

At the beginning of the year, Island Offshore

and partner Baker Hughes entered a back-to-

back agreement with VTT Maritime, which had

been awarded a contract for core sampling for

what is to be the world’s longest and deepest

submerged road tunnel, Rogfast. Together with

end client Statens Vegvesen, it was decided that

Island Offshore’s new coiled tubing drilling

method should be applied on the project,

and Island Offshore subsequently began using

the technology in Boknafjorden, north of

Stavanger, utilising a monohull vessel.

The coiled tubing drilling method is

expected to have a range of applications in

the offshore oil and gas industry and can be

used to construct high angles in a well over

a very short distance (up to 15 degrees over a

30m drilled hole). In order to avoid needing a

full marine riser spread, Island Offshore has

developed a subsea injector. A second injector

is also installed on board the vessel in order

to keep the coiled tubing between the subsea

injector and the vessel in tension. The work

was undertaken by Island Performer, with a total

of approximately 440m of core samples due to

be taken in order to obtain detailed information

about the geological conditions on the tunnel

route, with water depths ranging from 200–

300m. The project provided Island Offshore

with a unique opportunity to qualify and test

the technology, which it believes can play a

major role in the kind of light well intervention

services it first offered from its vessel Island

Frontier and in which it has specialised for a

number of years. Other potential applications

include pumping/acidising, plugging and

abandonment and advanced core sampling.

Towards the end of 2014, the company

confirmed that it had ordered an offshore

support vessel to be built at Vard Brevik. The

vessel is due for delivery in early 2016.

In May 2014, Island Offshore signed

a contract with the same yard for a large

installation vessel designed by Rolls-Royce. This

will be a multipurpose vessel with a wide range

of applications. The new vessel will be named

Island Victory and will be equipped with a 250-

tonne offshore crane, two remotely operated

vehicles and a large moonpool, enabling it to

undertake subsea installation work. With a

bollard pull in excess of 400 tonnes, the vessel

can also be used for heavy anchor handling. A

breadth of about 25m and a length of about

123m give Island Victory a deck area of 1,100m2.

The vessel will thus be able to load whole

anchor sets on deck, which will make it ideal

for pre-laying anchors.

The company is led by a scion of the famous

Ulstein family, Håvard Ulstein, who formed

Island Offshore following the sale of the family’s

ship equipment business, Ulstein Group, to

Vickers (which was itself soon acquired by

Rolls-Royce Marine). Ulstein, established

in 1917, manufactured a variety of marine

products including propellers, azimuth units,

tunnel thrusters, rudders, steering gear, deck

machinery, engines and automation systems.

Mr Ulstein quickly used his experience

in shipbuilding and shipowning to good

effect and built up what is today one of the

most sophisticated offshore vessel operations

anywhere. As highlighted above, the company

operates PSVs and AHTS vessels, as do many

other companies, but Island Offshore has

distinguished itself from its competitors by

developing a niche in the evolving market

for monohull well intervention vessels and,

more recently, top-hole drilling units such as

the massive UT 777 CD vessel it has on order

in Japan.

In addition to top-hole drilling the UT

777 CD will be able to undertake a variety of

subsea tasks, including construction and

inspection, maintenance and repair work in deep

waters. It can also be adapted to undertake light

well intervention. The design was developed

by Rolls-Royce Marine and will be classed as

a mobile offshore unit. It will have an enclosed

module-handling tower to ensure a safe

and comfortable working environment for

the crew while operating in harsh and cold

conditions. OSJ

Håvard Ulstein took his company Island Offshore into the light well intervention market soon after it was founded – now it is moving into another new market segment

Well intervention specialist moves into top-hole drilling

Håvard Ulstein’s company Island Offshore has specialised in light well intervention and is moving into top-hole drilling


16Francis Wong

M r Wong joined Swiber in 2005 and was

appointed to the company’s board in

November 2005. As Swiber’s group

CEO and president, Mr Wong is responsible

for Swiber’s corporate and strategic direction

and for steering its operations. With a strong

financial background, Mr Wong has put in place

financial controls for the group to support its

rapid expansion regionally and globally and

into new business operations. Active in his

professional field, Mr Wong is a fellow member

of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and

Administrators and a fellow certified practising

accountant of CPA Australia. He is also a

chartered accountant certified by the Malaysian

Institute of Accountants and the New Zealand

Institute of Chartered Accountants. Mr Wong

gained a Bachelor of Commerce degree from

Australia’s Deakin University in 1988 and a Master

of Commerce in Accounting from the University of

Auckland in 1990.

In a statement issued in mid-November, Swiber

Holdings Ltd reported a net profit of US$40.1

million for the nine months ended 30 September

2014. This was a decline of 22.8 per cent from

US$51.9 million in the same period in 2013.

Group revenue in the first nine months of 2014

contracted by 36.3 per cent to US$526.2 million

compared to US$826.0 million in 2013, mainly

due to lower revenue recognition from ongoing

projects, a number of which were substantially

completed in FY13. In addition, the activity for

the company’s new engineering, procurement,

installation and construction (EPIC) projects

had not commenced in the three months ended

30 September 2014.

As a result of lower revenue, the group’s gross

profit margin narrowed to 5.1 per cent, from 15.3

per cent previously, due to underabsorption of fixed

costs. However, other operating income surged to

US$114.6 million, from US$13.6 million in the

same period in 2013, driven mainly by the gain

from the disposal of a group of subsidiaries. In line

with the streamlining of its operations, the group’s

administrative expenses were also pared to US$45.0

million in 2014 from US$49.9 million previously.

Other operating expenses and finance expenses

increased to US$27.4 million and US$47.2 million

respectively in the first nine months of 2014,

due to higher net fair value loss on financial

instruments and higher borrowings and issuance

of debt securities. On the other hand, the

group recognised a larger share of profit of

associates and joint ventures amounting to

US$29.1 million during the period under review.

The impact of lower revenue, coupled with

higher other operating and finance expenses,

was partially buffered by stronger other operating

income, reduced administrative expenses and

higher share of profit of associates and joint

ventures. As a result, Swiber’s earnings per share

eased to US$0.05 in the nine-month period from

US$0.052 in the same period in 2013.

For the third quarter of 2014, the group

reported a net loss of US$22.9 million compared

to a net profit of US$14.5 million in the same

quarter in 2013. This was attributable primarily

to a 60.9 per cent reduction in revenue to

US$107.3 million, which caused gross profit to

fall to US$847,000 from US$39.0 million the

third quarter of 2013. The top line in the third

quarter of 2014 was lower as revenue from

ongoing projects was substantially recognised

during FY13.

Mr Wong explained that new projects that

Swiber clinched earlier this year were due to

start from the final quarter of the year. “At the

same time, we have been actively bidding for

new orders in our target markets, particularly

in Southeast Asia, which is our primary revenue

driver, as well as in South Asia, Latin America

and West Africa,” he explained.

“As an affirmation of our commitment to the

development of Mexico’s oil and gas industry,

Swiber is flying the Mexican flag on five vessels.

This further establishes Swiber as a local key

player as we continue to step up our level of local

support to our clients and potential customers

operating in Mexico.”

Addressing the market as a whole, Mr Wong

added, “Whilst global oil prices have experienced

a decline recently, we believe shallow-water

field development work will continue to take

place and generate demand for EPIC services.

Swiber’s business model focuses mainly on the

execution of EPIC projects for shallow-water

exploration and production (E&P) activities.

Having built a sound reputation in this domain,

we will continue to seize opportunities in growth

markets across the Asia Pacific, Latin America

and West Africa.”

As at 12 November 2014, the group’s

orderbook stood at approximately US$535

million. Barring unforeseen circumstances, it

anticipates that the orderbook will grow as the

group continues to actively bid for new projects

in its target markets.

Going forward, Mr Wong said Swiber will

also continue to place a strong emphasis on

enhancing its operational performance and

maximising cost efficiencies. As part of its

reorganisation efforts to streamline the group’s

business operations, Swiber recently announced

the proposed sale of its 100 per cent interest in

Newcruz International Pte Ltd (NIPL) and its

49 per cent stake in PTSB Holdings Pte Ltd for

US$36.1 million to Vallianz Holdings Ltd. The

group presently holds a 23.36 per cent stake

in Vallianz, which is a fast-growing provider of

offshore support vessels and integrated marine

solutions to the oil and gas industry. Although

NIPL and PTSB are complementary to Swiber’s

EPIC business, their businesses do not form

part of the group’s core activities. As such,

the proposed sale is expected to help to lower

the group’s overall cost structure and sharpen

its operational focus. As a major shareholder

of Vallianz, the group will also continue to

benefit from the potential synergies that could

be derived from this reorganisation. OSJ

Francis Wong, Swiber Holding’s CEO, anticipates growth from EPIC and shallow-water projects and is taking the company further into the Mexican market

Wong looks to EPIC projects and Mexico for future growth

Francis Wong: “as part of our commitment to Mexico’s oil and gas industry, Swiber is flying the Mexican flag on five vessels”

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T idewater effectively created what

is known in the US as the ‘workboat

industry’ with the 1956 launch of Ebb

Tide, the world’s first offshore vessel tailor-made

to support the offshore oil and gas industry.

Today, Tidewater has the largest fleet of offshore

support vessels in the industry and is the

oldest and most experienced provider of the

marine support services for this vital industry.

Nowadays, the company has a global footprint,

with over 90 per cent of its fleet working

internationally in more than 60 countries.

Jeff Platt became president, chief executive

officer and a director at Tidewater in 2012 and

is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh

with a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical

engineering. He also completed the Harvard

advanced management programme in 2006.

Following a 15-year career with Schlumberger

Well Services and Rollins Environmental

Services, Mr Platt joined Tidewater in 1996

as general manager for its activities in Brazil.

In September 2001, he assumed responsibility

for Tidewater’s joint ventures and business

in Mexico, and in November 2001, he was

promoted to vice president with responsibility

for all of the company’s business activities in

South America, Mexico and the Caribbean. In

March 2004, he was promoted to senior vice

president with responsibility for operations in the

Americas, along with the Middle East and India.

In July 2006, he was promoted to executive vice

president responsible for overseeing the day-

to-day marine operations of the company, both

domestically and internationally, and in March

2010, he was promoted to chief operating officer.

In our 2013 Industry Leaders supplement,

Mr Platt noted that Tidewater had a “solid

balance sheet” allowing it to continue to act on

available opportunities, such as the acquisition

of Troms Offshore in Norway and the formation

of the company’s new subsea business. Its top 10

customers in the 2013 fiscal year included four

‘super majors’, two national oil companies and

three independent oil companies and accounted

for 58 per cent of the company’s revenues. In

the latest quarter for which results are available,

the company said that only around 9 per cent

of vessel revenue was generated in US waters;

however, 15 other US-flagged vessels were

working in the international market.

Writing in the company’s latest annual

report, published in August 2014, Mr Platt said

the fiscal 2014 offshore market had exhibited

steadily improving activity that contributed to

a 15 per cent increase in vessel revenues. He

explained that Tidewater’s more than a decade-

long strategy of replacing and enhancing its

ageing fleet was reaping rewards and that the

company’s ‘new’ fleet of vessels had grown to

245 vessels by the end of that fiscal year, with 30

additional units under construction. Utilisation

of these vessels averaged over 83 per cent during

the year, and the average day rate of this ‘new’

vessel fleet was approximately US$18,275 – an 11

per cent improvement from the prior fiscal year.

Describing the company’s second-quarter

results for the 2015 fiscal year (for the period

ended 30 September 2014), he said the company

had earnings of US$60.9 million, or US$1.22 per

common share, on revenues of US$397.5 million.

For the same quarter last year, net earnings

were US$54.2 million, or US$1.09 per common

share, on revenues of US$367.9 million. The

immediately preceding quarter ended 30 June

2014 had net earnings of US$43.7 million, or

US$0.88 per common share, on revenues of

US$385.7 million.

In a conference call, Mr Platt said the results

reflected what he described as a “solid” operating

quarter. The company generated revenues at the

high end of its prior guidance and operating

expenses at the lower end. “As usual, there were

a mix of positives and negatives during the

quarter that impacted our bottom line, but on

balance, our revenue gain was driven principally

by a roughly US$700 a day increase in the global

fleet average day rate from the rate earned in

the June quarter. That increase came without

significant help from vessel mobilisation and

demobilisation revenues.

“Overall,” he explained, “our fleet utilisation

rate declined marginally, although our global

deepwater fleet enjoyed a strong 87 per cent

utilisation rate, partially offset by a small drop

on our towing-supply/supply fleet to around 76

per cent.

“Our operational earnings performance was

driven primarily by the day rate gain, coupled with

reduced expenses sequentially, including reduction

in repair and maintenance expense and G&A costs.

“In light of the turbulent conditions in the

oil market today and the uncertain outlook for

the offshore business due to possible reductions

and expiration of production activity in certain

geographic markets, we are pleased with

this quarter’s results,” he concluded. “They

reflect the hard work and dedication of our

9,000-plus employees worldwide. Equally as

important, these results confirm the strength

of the Tidewater franchise, something which

shouldn't be overlooked as we enter a period of

business uncertainty.”

Mr Platt agreed that profit margins could be

squeezed in the near term because of what he

described as “timing issues” with new vessel

construction but not because Tidewater’s clients

are scaling back investment in reaction to the

sharp fall in the oil price. Currently, he said,

Tidewater plans to add around 30 vessels to its

fleet by 2016.

Mr Platt said that, in keeping with other

offshore vessel operators, Tidewater would

not be immune to the effects of the oil price

decline or projects being pushed to the right or

cancelled, but he believed that the company was

in a strong position to weather a downturn if

one occurs. OSJ

Jeff Platt, Tidewater’s president and CEO, says the sharp fall in the oil price could affect the company but believes it is well placed to deal with the fallout from a downturn

Tidewater can weather the downturn says Platt

17Jeff Platt

Jeff Platt: “offshore industry is entering a period of uncertainty”


W hen Quintin Kneen became

president and CEO of GulfMark

Offshore in June 2013, the oil

price was high and had been for some time,

and companies such as GulfMark confidently

anticipated an excellent year in 2014 as rigs

arrived in the Gulf of Mexico. The oil price

remained high until its recent steep decline

earlier this year, but the market in the Gulf of

Mexico never really took off as expected. With

GulfMark’s existing newbuild programme

approaching completion, Mr Kneen has

restated his focus on long-term value

creation for the company’s stockholders and,

rather than another newbuild programme,

has turned his attention to acquiring the

company’s own stock, believing it to be one

of the best investments it can make in the

current climate.

Mr Kneen joined GulfMark in June 2008 as

vice president finance and was named senior

vice president finance and administration

in December 2008. He was subsequently

appointed as the company’s executive vice

president and chief financial officer in June

2009 where he worked until his appointment

as CEO. Previously, he was vice president

finance and investor relations for Grant

Prideco, having served in executive finance

positions at Grant Prideco since June 2003.

Prior to joining Grant Prideco, Mr Kneen held

executive finance positions at Azurix Corp

and was an audit manager with the Houston

office of Price Waterhouse LLP. He holds an

MBA from Rice University and a BBA in

accounting from Texas A&M University and is

a certified public accountant and a chartered

financial analyst.

Mr Kneen took over the reins at one of the

world’s leading offshore vessel companies,

with operations in the Gulf of Mexico, the

North Sea and elsewhere – one that has

invested significantly in high specification

newbuilding and in upgrades to existing

vessels. Its rationale for doing so is that there

are a significant number of new-generation

rigs on order and a need for more activity

for support vessels, along with regulatory

changes that are driving demand for higher

specification vessels and for vessels capable

of operating in deeper waters and harsher

environments. A new generation of vessels is

also required with increased cargo-carrying

capacity and flexibility and reduced impact on

the environment.

Announcing results for the three-month

and nine-month periods that ended on 30

September 2014, Mr Kneen said revenue for

the quarter was US$128.7 million and net

income was US$24.3 million, or US$0.92 per

diluted share. Included in the quarterly results

were three special items that totalled US$0.17

per diluted share. Earnings before these

special items were US$0.75 per diluted share.

Mr Kneen said the global offshore vessel

market had flattened in the third quarter

as fewer drilling rigs were utilised than

anticipated and as oil-producing companies

continued their focus on reducing costs.

These factors resulted in what he described

as generally favourable but slower than

anticipated markets in the Gulf of Mexico

and the North Sea. In contrast, he said, the

Southeast Asia market “remained challenged”

as national oil companies in the region were

slow to award new contracts and too many

offshore vessels were being introduced into

the region.

Mr Kneen said GulfMark had taken steps to

improve its financial flexibility, upgrade its fleet

and enhance the return for its stockholders

and had taken advantage of a favourable bank

market to renegotiate its main revolving credit

facility. As a result, GulfMark doubled its

domestic borrowing capacity whilst reducing

overall borrowing costs.

“Our total vessel count has remained

stable, but by the end of this year, we will

have delivered three new vessels, purchased

one 2012-built vessel and had four of our

existing vessels enhanced through our vessel

stretch programme,” he explained. “So far this

year, we have sold two older vessels, and we

have contracts to sell two more vessels before

year end. As a result, even though our total

vessel count is not increasing, the quality of

the vessels in our fleet is rising, as confirmed

by our increasing average day rate.

“As of today, we have less than US$90

million of payments remaining on the four

vessels in our newbuild programme. We

continue to seek opportunities to further high-

grade the fleet, but believe that one of the best

investments for us today is the repurchase of

our own stock. Although we pride ourselves

on our excellence in operating vessels, the

cyclical nature of our industry presents us

opportunities to maximise stockholder value

through the repurchase of our own stock. We

have been making open market purchases of

our stock and continue to do so.”

Since 30 June, GulfMark has repurchased

758,686 shares at an average price of US$32.16

per share. In addition, it is committed to

its current dividend policy, and the current

market sentiment and outlook does not change

this commitment.

The company has revised its annual

revenue guidance to US$490–495 million for

the full 2014 year and to be between US$110

and US$115 million for the fourth quarter.

“Although momentum in the market seems

to be slowing, we remain committed to our

stockholders, customers and employees,”

Mr Kneen concluded. OSJ

With the oil price falling, Quintin Kneen, GulfMark’s president and CEO, says he believes the company’s share price is significantly undervalued, and he expects it to rebound when the market improves

Kneen invests in own stock as market stalls

Quintin Kneen18

Quintin Kneen sees repurchasing GulfMark’s stock as a good option in the current offshore market


2 014 has seen Ceona Offshore reach a

number of important milestones as

the company transitions from life as a

start-up to an established player in the subsea

umbilicals, risers and flowlines (Surf) segment.

With an extensive capex programme, the

foremost milestone was the completion earlier

this year of a US$290 million secured debt

facility to finance its two newbuild projects –

Ceona Amazon and the vertical pipelay system

(VLS) for Polar Onyx. The new debt facility will

be used for the completion of Ceona Amazon,

a specialist pipelay and subsea construction

vessel, and the VLS, which is now installed on

Polar Onyx, a vessel that Ceona has chartered on

a long-term basis. Performance bonds available

under the facility will provide more flexibility for

Ceona to execute on its comprehensive growth

strategy in the coming years.

The facility is underwritten by ABN Amro

Bank and KfW IPEX-Bank and is backed by

Atradius Dutch State Business, Euler Hermes

and Kuke as export credit insurers. The

transaction is in addition to existing term loan

facilities Ceona has in place for its owned vessels

Blue Giant and Ceona Giant II.

Speaking at the time that the facility

was agreed, Ceona CEO Steve Preston said

the debt facility perfectly complemented the

company’s existing debt arrangements and the

strong equity commitment from Ceona’s main

shareholder, Goldman Sachs Capital Partners,

and brought Ceona’s capital commitment to

over US$900 million to support future growth

and vessel development strategies.

Mr Preston joined Ceona in March

2012 from Heerema Marine Contractors

where he was executive vice president,

commercial and technology, for 12 years

– a role that saw him responsible for the

group’s worldwide commercial and business

development activities. He brought to the

start-up company more than 35 years of

experience, with a strong background in

commercial negotiations, engineering and

project management. When joining Ceona,

he drew up the strategy that would guide

development of the company and launched

the project to design and build Ceona Amazon.

In September, the company announced that

Ceona Amazon – which will be Ceona Offshore’s

first fully owned field development vessel – had

been floated out at Bremerhaven, Germany.

The vessel had been towed out from Crist yard,

Poland, last April and reached its latest major

construction milestone at the Lloyd Werft yard

in Bremerhaven, where it was set for completion

at the end of November.

For Ceona, Ceona Amazon represents the next

step in pipelay and heavy subsea construction.

The 199m deepwater field development asset

has a product-carrying capacity of 5,000

tonnes of flexible or 8,500 tonnes of rigid

pipe stored on and below her 4,600m2 deck.

This is complemented by twin 400-tonne

active heave compensated (AHC) cranes

capable of working in tandem lifting mode

and innovative on-vessel pipeline fabrication

capabilities. Once work in Germany has been

completed, Ceona Amazon will move to the

Huisman yard in Schiedam, The Netherlands

for installation of a 570-tonne pipelay tower

and the two 400-tonne cranes before entering

into operation early in 2015.

The company said that progress at Huisman

had also been very satisfactory, with both

400-tonne cranes having completed factory

acceptance trials and the 570-tonne pipelay

tower near completion some three months

ahead of schedule.

In May of this year, the growing Surf

contractor was awarded a contract for work in

the Oyo oilfield offshore Nigeria. The contract

was awarded by Camac Energy Inc. The Oyo

phase one expansion project consists of the

installation and recovery of umbilical and flexible

pipe as well as light subsea construction in a

water depth of up to 500m. Project management

will be performed by Ceona, while local offshore

support and engineering work will be delivered

in partnership with their local partner, Marine

Platforms Ltd in Lagos, Nigeria.

Offshore work got underway this summer

using a chartered-in vessel, Normand Pacific. Ceona

has chartered the vessel from Solstad Offshore

since April 2014 for one year with an option of

extension. Ceona mobilised Normand Pacific with

a new, high specification 75-tonne vertical lay

system, a reel drive system of 400-tonne reels

and two work-class remotely operated vehicles.

The vessel’s first contract as part of the Ceona

fleet was working on the Clipper contingency

umbilical installation project for Bennu Oil and

Gas in the Gulf of Mexico.

May also saw Ceona complete final outfitting

of Polar Onyx and Normand Pacific to begin projects

in Brazil and the Gulf of Mexico respectively.

Mr Preston noted that the successful delivery

of the two flexlay and subsea construction

vessels marks the conclusion of the first phase of

Ceona’s fleet development programme.

Polar Onyx was designed for operations in

harsh conditions and deep water and is built to

the highest standard in dynamic positioning, DP3

(Operations +) with a 250-tonne AHC offshore

crane. Following on-schedule completion, Polar

Onyx sailed for Brazil where it mobilised and

entered service as a pipelay support vessel (PLSV)

for Petrobras. Ceona is managing the PLSV on

the vessel’s maiden contract, in partnership with

Odebrecht Oil & Gas (OOG), having chartered

the vessel from GC Rieber Shipping for a fixed

period of five years, with options for up to five

additional years.

With work underway in both Brazil and

the Gulf of Mexico, the company plans to

continue to build up its subsea capability with

the ongoing construction of Ceona Amazon. OSJ

Ceona Offshore CEO Steve Preston drafted the strategy that guided the development of the company from a start-up to a fully-fledged Surf contractor

Steve Preston19Ceona CEO sees Surf vision coming to fruition

Steve Preston has seen Ceona grow rapidly to the point that it is ready to take delivery of its purpose-built vessel


L ead by CEO Diederik de Boer, Singapore-

based Miclyn Express Offshore’s latest

financial presentation painted a picture

of continued growth in the company’s core

segments, including offshore support vessels

(OSVs) and crewboats that continues to justify

the company’s capex strategy.

According to that presentation, the

company’s OSVs enjoyed a utilisation level of

around 87 per cent in the first half of FY14

and its fleet continued to grow in size, with

four externally constructed 7,150 bhp anchor-

handling tug/supply (AHTS) vessels due to be

delivered in FY15, two of which will be deployed

in the company’s joint venture in Thailand.

A market leader in the crewboat segment,

the first half of the company’s FY14 saw

a high level of utilisation and margin

improvement on the back of what the

company described as “significant demand

in all core markets” – a trend that is driving

significant investment in additional units as

part of its fleet renewal strategy.

Addressing regional developments, Mr de

Boer’s company said activity in Australia was

picking up and the Middle East business was

expanding, with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu

Dhabi continuing to be a focus. Southeast Asia

remains an important market for Miclyn Express

Offshore, particularly Malaysia, as do Brunei,

Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and Myanmar.

Mr de Boer is responsible for the

overall execution of Miclyn Express

Offshore’s corporate plans and business

strategies. He has 30 years’ experience in

the maritime industry and has worked for

Miclyn Express Offshore group and its

predecessor companies since 1991, when

he was appointed general manager of CW

Marine Services (Singapore) and regional

director of SvitzerWijsmuller Group. From

1979 to 1990, he worked for SMIT, his last

position there being marketing manager for

the Far East offshore vessel fleet. He has

a bachelor’s degree in law from Erasmus

University Rotterdam and an MBA from the

Graduate Institute of Management in Delft.

Writing in the latest issue of the company’s

in-house journal, Mr de Boer said Miclyn

Express Offshore had recently completed a

strategic review, the result of which is a plan

for the company’s development for the next

three years with what he called “regional,

fleet and organisational focus within the

parameters of an acceptable risk profile”.

Mr de Boer said this has resulted in a

capex spending plan across various segments,

which includes crewboats, selected OSV types

and mid-sized barges. Some of these are

against firm contracts or potential strategic

opportunities. The total spend will amount to

some US$200 million over three years, which,

he said, would drive growth of the company in

terms of financial performance.

“We are at the same time disposing of less

strategically relevant assets, such as some

of the straight towing tugs, older crewboats

and notably recently the Batam shipyard,”

he explained. “We have sold the facility to

neighbours, ASL Marine, but will continue

to use it as tenants for our fleet warehouse,

training centre as well as repair and conversion

requirements for our ASEAN-based fleet.”

As part of the strategy exercise, the

company has also embarked on an HR review

that will examine the company’s current

practices and tune these to enable it to attract

and retain what Mr de Boer described as “the

best talent”.

Mr de Boer explained that new operating

entities in Malaysia and Brunei are being

built to support the substantial volume of

business growth the company has attained

in these regions following multivessel, long-

term contract wins.

“We continue to take delivery of new

crewboats from shipbuilders such as the

Penguin yard in Singapore/Batam, and these

boats generally go straight into new contracts

won in a robust market,” said Mr de Boer.

“Our four 90-tonne bollard pull AHTS vessels

are being bid on various opportunities.

“All our business units across all our

operating regions continue to perform well.

The Middle East is experiencing an expansion

in new contract wins, particularly in Qatar and

Saudi. In ASEAN, we hope to see further growth

in Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia.”

More recently, the company announced

that it had been awarded three contracts, each

of four years plus three one-year extension

options, to provide AHTS services to Chevron

in the Gulf of Thailand through its joint

venture Uniwise Offshore. The contracted

vessels include two of the 7,150 bhp, 90-tonne

bollard pull AHTS newbuilds that were

delivered to the company by Chinese yards in

the third quarter of 2014.

The contract is the latest in a run of success

for the company, which recently secured a

number of long-term extensions on key assets

as well as multivessel tender wins with Saudi

Aramco and Brunei Shell Petroleum, the

latter providing entry into a new market with

a new customer. On the back of this success,

Miclyn Express Offshore’s orderbook is now

around US$750 million, which is an all-time

high for the company. Mr de Boer said this

growth is expected to increase as the company

continues to execute its growth strategy and

seeks opportunities to invest in new assets

backed by long-term contracts with core

customers. OSJ

With a strong cash position, the ability to service a new debt package and fund growth, Miclyn Express Offshore is well placed to continue to expand

20Diederik de Boer

Cautious expansion pays off for de Boer

Diederik de Boer: “company is expanding and investing in assets with an acceptable risk profile”


H avila Shipping is one of the best known of

Norway’s numerous family-run offshore

support vessel owners and was founded

by the father of the current chief executive officer,

Njål Sævik. In fact, when Havila Shipping was

established in 2003, it was the third offshore

supply company Mr Sævik’s father Per had

founded (Sævik Supply and Havila Supply, the

first two, having been sold).

Havila Shipping was founded with a total

of 10 ships and is now a modern offshore

company with operations across the globe

with a fleet of 14 platform supply vessels

(PSVs), nine anchor-handling tug/supply

(AHTS) vessels and three subsea vessels,

plus one safety/rescue unit. Its growth has

been rapid, and today, it operates a large

fleet of modern offshore vessels with a

commitment to high standards and a

focus on long-term contracts with leading

offshore companies.

When Sævik Supply was founded in 1981,

the offshore supply industry in Norway was in

its infancy. Today, it is one of Norway’s most

important industries, and the company that Njål

Sævik leads is one of its foremost practitioners,

with a head office in Fosnavåg, Norway; offices

in Rio, Labuan and Aberdeen; a partnership with

Posh in Singapore; a fleet of 27 vessels; 800

offshore staff and 46 onshore; and a strong track

record that culminated in Mr Sævik describing the

company’s third quarter of 2014 as its “best ever”.

In a recent presentation, Mr Sævik said the

North Sea spot market for AHTS vessels had

been better than expected in the third quarter,

particularly from August, with some contracts

beating the market average. The AHTS spot market

quarterly average was the best since early 2009, he

said, and the company had achieved total income

of NKr519 million (US$76 million) and adjusted

EBITDA of NKr273 million (US$40 million).

That made the company’s year to the end of

October better than last year, and the bottom line

doubled. Havila’s contract coverage increased,

and Petrobras declared a four-year option on one

of the company’s vessels in Brazil. Overall, he

said, the company’s contract coverage was good.

The group had 27 vessels in operation as

of 30 September 2014, with four of the vessels

operated by the 50 per cent owned company in

Singapore, Posh Havila Pte Ltd. One vessel was

leased through a bareboat contract.

In a statement, the company said the spot

market for offshore vessels in August and

September was good for AHTS vessels but weaker

for PSVs. “Utilisation for AHTS has been high,

resulting in very satisfactory rates,” said Mr Sævik,

noting that he anticipated that Havila’s trio of

anchor handlers had exceeded the average rate

achieved in the market during the third quarter.

Summing up the situation in the markets in

which Havila operates, Mr Sævik said the subsea

vessels were fully covered for 2015. The spot

market for AHTS vessels remained volatile, but

the spot market for PSVs had started out well with

continuing tender activity.

The market value of the company as of 30

September 2014 was approximately NKr 866.2

million based on a share price of NKr 28.70. A total

of 652 shareholders own the company, of whom

50 shareholders are from outside Norway. Havila

Holding AS owns 50.5 per cent of the company.

The company’s share capital amounts to NKr

377.2 million, comprising 30,179,599 shares at a

par value of NKr 12.50. Havila Shipping has one

class of shares, where each share secures one vote

at the company’s general meeting

Based on the estimates of brokers as of 30

June 2014, the company’s fleet had a market

value of NKr 8,136.2 million at the end of

September. This is equivalent to a value per share

of NKr 92. The book value of the fleet is NKr

7.507.0 million. Book equity per share is NKr 71.

Total current assets amounted to NKr 869.1

million on 30 September 2014, of which bank

deposits were NKr 340.2 million (of this NKr

2.0 million was restricted). On 30 September

2013, total current assets amounted to NKr 840.8

million, of which bank deposits amounted to NKr

389.5 million.

Net cash flow from operations year to 30

September 2014 was NKr 173.4 million (NKr 145.0

million). Cashflow from investing activities was

NKr -193.2 million (NKr -9.1 million). Payment of

instalments, repayment of loans, and loan drawn,

constituted a net change from financing activities

of NKr - 45.3 million (NKr -243.5 million). OSJ

Havila Shipping had an especially good third quarter, with its anchor-handling tug/supply vessels doing particularly well

Third quarter was a record breaker for Sævik

Njål Sævik21

Njål Sævik: “third quarter of 2014 was a record for Havila Shipping”

Havila’s anchor handlers did especially well in the third quarter

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I n October 2014, fast-growing Harvey Gulf

International Marine, whose CEO Shane

Guidry was OSJ’s Industry Leader in 2013,

confirmed that it has established an entity in

Mexico, Harvey Gulf International Marine de

Mexico SAPI de CV.

With a presence in Mexico, Harvey Gulf

will be able to fully service the needs of its

clients operating in the offshore oil and gas

segment offshore Mexico and position itself

to meet the needs of future clients that will

enter the market. As highlighted in OSJ on a

number of occasions, recently approved changes

in Mexican law are opening up much greater

opportunities for owners of offshore vessels

from outside the country.

Mr Guidry said, “We recognise the

growth potential in the Mexican market. The

establishment of Harvey Gulf International

Marine de Mexico will allow us to fully deliver

our services direct to our clients in Mexico.

Harvey Gulf’s new generation of assets,

performance and safe operations will provide

our customers with value and address their

needs in Mexico.”

He explained that the initial area of operation

will primarily be in Ciudad del Carmen, Mexico.

However, the company will be able to operate

in any other port facility locations along the

Mexican coast to support offshore operations.

At the beginning of 2014, Gulf Coast

Shipyard Group launched the first of six dual-

fuel platform supply vessels for Harvey Gulf

International Marine.

Speaking at the time that the vessel was

launched, Mr Guidry said the vessels would be

certified by the American Bureau of Shipping

to achieve ENVIRO+, Green Passport status.

To meet the criteria, he explained, the yard met

requirements that the vessel be constructed with

environmentally friendly materials and be fitted

with advanced alarm systems. “Ultimately, the

vessel will also be continuously manned by a

certified environmental officer,” he said.

The first of the Gulf Coast-built Harvey

Gulf vessels was moved to the yard’s newly

commissioned space at the Port of Gulfport in

mid-March for final completion and testing and

was due to be commissioned by the end of 2014.

Early 2014 also saw New Orleans-based

Harvey Gulf announce the ground-breaking for

construction on its US$25 million Phase 1, Slip

B, liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuelling facility at

its terminal in Port Fourchon, Louisiana. When

operational, the LNG facility will be the first of

its kind in the US. The technologically advanced,

environmentally safe, clean energy facility will

be an important addition to the growing LNG

supply infrastructure in the area and in the US

as a whole, supporting operations of the oil and

gas industry’s offshore fleet as well as over-the-

road vehicles operating on clean LNG.

Mr Guidry said the ground-breaking

represented “another significant step in the path

for Harvey Gulf to establish itself as the nation’s

leader in utilising LNG as a marine fuel”.

The company is investing US$350 million in

the construction of its LNG-operated fleet. “The

dual-fuel vessels and our LNG facility further

expand Harvey Gulf’s commitment to develop

and utilise the safest, most environmentally

friendly vessels and fuel technology available

today,” Mr Guidry said. “This fleet and facility

signify a strong partnership between the state of

Louisiana, US Department of Energy, US Coast

Guard and Harvey Gulf with a common goal of

clean energy use and strengthening America’s

future energy independence.”

Harvey Gulf selected Lockheed Martin for the

construction of the facility’s LNG storage tanks.

The company is also playing an important role

in the dual-fuel vessel construction programme.

Harvey Gulf contracted CH-IV International of

Houston, Texas, as the front-end engineering

design and engineering, procurement and

construction contractor and Matrix PDM

Engineering of Pittsburgh for detailed design

and engineering. Civil engineering services

are being provided by Carubba Engineering of

Metairie, Louisiana.

The LNG facility will consist of two sites

each having 270,000 gallons (1 million litres) of

LNG storage capacity. The LNG tanks will be of

stainless steel type C construction. Each facility

will be able to transfer 500 gallons (1,900 litres)

of LNG per minute. In addition to bringing

energy-saving and environmentally friendly

maritime fuel to Louisiana, Harvey Gulf will be

bringing significant economic impact. Harvey

Gulf’s LNG facility will generate 70 new full-

time jobs and another 120 jobs to handle its Port

Fourchon operations and fleet of LNG vessels.

2014 also saw Harvey Gulf sell eight offshore

towing vessels (OTVs) to Signet Maritime.

The vessels ranged in size from 75 tonnes to

153 tonnes bollard pull. The sale included all

of Harvey Gulf’s OTVs, spares, business and

supplies. Signet committed to retention of all

crew members and plans for Tier-3 compliant

generation of power on all eight tugs, with

conversions starting immediately.

Mr Guidry explained that the companies

shared what he described as “a strong culture

of entrepreneurship and a focus on quality and

service to the customer”.

2014 also saw Harvey Gulf and Eastern

Shipbuilding sign a contract for the construction

of a Robert Allan-designed RAmpage 6400

multipurpose field support vessel. The vessel

will be built at Eastern’s facility in Panama City,

Florida. The RAmpage 6400 will begin a 10-year

charter when delivered in April 2016. OSJ

Harvey Gulf International Marine has become well known for its commitment to LNG-fuelled vessels, and now it is targeting the Mexican market

LNG leader looks to Mexican market

22Shane Guidry

Shane Guidry: “we recognise the growth potential in the Mexican market”


W hen it announced its latest results in

November it was clear that Hornbeck

Offshore had exceeded analysts’

forecasts, despite the fact that the market in

the Gulf of Mexico is beset with issues and that

2014 has been a disappointing year for many

owners. Hornbeck Offshore’s share price has

declined significantly over the course of 2014 –

as have the share prices of other offshore vessel

owners – a number of whom have launched

share repurchase programmes, believing that

their stock is undervalued.

Todd Hornbeck, who is chairman of the

board, president, and chief executive officer

of Hornbeck Offshore, has served as president

and as a director of the company since its

formation in June 1997, and evidently feels

the same way, and has also launched a stock

repurchase programme.

Until February 2002, Mr Hornbeck served

as chief operating officer. In May 2005, he

was elected to the position of chairman of

the board, having worked for the original

Hornbeck Offshore Services, a publicly traded

offshore service vessel company, from 1991

to 1996, serving in various positions relating

to business strategy and development.

Following the merger of Hornbeck Offshore

Services with Tidewater in March 1996, he

remained with Tidewater until the current

company was formed.

When Mr Hornbeck unveiled the company’s

third quarter 2014 results he said he planned

to acquire around US$150 million of its own

shares. This after the company recorded

income from continuing operations for the

third quarter of 2014 of US$26.6 million,

or US$0.72 per diluted share, compared to

US$17.8 million, or US$0.49 per diluted share,

for the same quarter a year ago, and US$31.2

million, or US$0.85 per diluted share, for the

second quarter of 2014.

Mr Hornbeck said EBITDA from continuing

operations for the third quarter of 2014

increased 33.3 per cent to US$79.3 million

compared to US$59.5 million for the third

quarter of 2013 and decreased 5.9 per cent

compared to US$84.3 million for the second

quarter of 2014.

The company’s revenues were US$166.9

million for the third quarter of 2014, an

increase of US$34.0 million, or 25.6 per cent,

from US$132.9 million for the third quarter

of 2013; and a decrease of US$4.2 million, or

2.5 per cent, from US$171.1 million for the

second quarter of 2014. The year-over-year

increase in upstream revenues was primarily

due to the full or partial-period contribution

of 14 vessels that were placed in service under

the company’s fifth newbuild programme or

redelivered under the 200-class OSV retrofit

programme since September 2013, as well

as improved spot market conditions for the

company’s multipurpose platform supply

vessels (MPSVs).

The newly constructed and recently

retrofitted vessels accounted for a US$35.1

million year-over-year increase in revenues

and higher spot day rates earned by the

MPSVs accounted for an US$11.0 million

year-over-year increase in revenues. This

was partially offset by a decline in day

rates from the company’s OSVs that were

in-service during each of the quarters ended

30 September 2014 and 2013, due to soft

market conditions in the spot market.

Operating income was US$50.2 million,

or 30.1 per cent of revenues, for the third

quarter of 2014 compared to US$37.2 million,

or 28.0 per cent of revenues, for the prior-year

quarter; and US$56.8 million, or 33.2 per cent

of revenues, for the second quarter of 2014.

Average new generation OSV day rates for

the third quarter of 2014 were US$28,049

compared to US$27,545 for the same period

in 2013 and US$27,565 for the second quarter

of 2014.

New generation OSV utilization was

81.7 per cent for the third quarter of 2014

compared to 80.7 per cent for the year-ago

quarter and 85.7 per cent for the sequential

quarter. The year-over-year increase in

utilization is primarily due to 111 fewer

days of regulatory drydocking during the

third quarter of 2014 compared to the prior-

year period. The company’s high-spec OSVs

achieved an average utilization of 78.6 per

cent for the third quarter of 2014.

The company also recently announced

that it had finalized plans to convert one

of its newbuild HOSMAX 300 class OSVs,

HOS Riverbend, into a 300-class MPSV flotel

vessel. This new, US-flagged, Jones Act-

qualified MPSV will require 140 days of

out-of-service time and will be fitted with

a 35 ton knuckleboom crane, a motion-

compensated gangway and accommodation

for 194 personnel.

As of 30 September 2014, excluding two

inactive non-core vessels, the company fleet

consisted of 60 new generation OSVs and

four MPSVs. Hornbeck has since delivered

one additional HOSMAX newbuild OSV in

late October 2014. The company’s forward

contract coverage for its current and

projected fleet of active new generation

OSVs for the fourth quarter of 2014 and

for fiscal 2015 is currently 62 per cent and

27 per cent, respectively. Forward contract

coverage for its current and projected fleet

of MPSVs for the fourth quarter of 2014 and

for fiscal 2015 is currently 63 per cent and 18

per cent, respectively.

Hornbeck’s fifth newbuild programme

consists of four 300-class OSVs (one of which

will be converted into the flotel), five 310-

class OSVs, 10 320-class OSVs and five 310-

class MPSVs. OSJ

Like a number of offshore vessel owners in the Gulf of Mexico, Todd Hornbeck believes that the company’s stock is undervalued and has recently launched a repurchasing programme

Hornbeck sees company’s shares as undervalued

Todd Hornbeck23

Todd Hornbeck’s company has the biggest newbuilding programme in the US


A company that has grown rapidly

from being a regional player based

in Singapore to an international one

active in most sectors of the offshore vessel

market, Ezra Holdings is led by group CEO

and managing director Lionel Lee, son of the

company’s founder, Lee Kian Soo. Mr Lee

is responsible for the overall management

and operations of the group and has been

the driving force behind its growth, listing

on the Singapore Exchange in 2003 and

entry into the subsea vessel market via

the acquisition of AMC in 2011. Also

recognised for his work in corporate social

responsibility, he was awarded Singapore’s

Public Service Medal in 2011 for his work

with underprivileged children in Singapore.

He holds a graduate diploma in business

administration from the Western Sydney

International College.

Ezra Holdings had record revenue of US$1.5

billion in the full year ending 31 August 2014,

driven mainly by the group’s subsea services

division’s sustained operational profitability.

Revenue increased 18 per cent, setting a

new record for the company and beating the

US$1.3 billion achieved in FY13. Revenue

for the three months ended 31 August 2014

edged up by 6 per cent from US$419.2 million

at the end of 31 August 2013 to US$446.0

million. Gross profit grew 34 per cent to

US$226.9 million in FY14, and gross profit

margin increased from 13 per cent in FY13 to

15 per cent in FY14. Adjusted EBITDA for the

group grew 68 per cent to US$176.7 million

in FY14, and adjusted PAT rebounded from a

loss of US$26.6 million in FY13 to a profit of

US$41.2 million in FY14.

EMAS AMC, the company’s subsea

services division, continues to deliver

sustained growth, with five recurring

quarters of operational profitability.

Revenue increased by 32 per cent to

US$1.0 billion as a result of the group’s

strategy to improve operational efficiency

and economies of scale by increasing fleet

capacity and optimising deployment to

undertake more projects.

EMAS AMC also secured orders valued

at almost US$1.0 billion in total from the

start of FY14 despite worsening market

sentiment, building a healthy backlog of

projects up to 2016. Just prior to the results

announcement, EMAS AMC announced

that it had secured a number of contracts

for subsea tie-back projects with Noble

Energy, valued at more than US$300 million,

following its successful partnership on the

Tamar project. EMAS AMC also recently

announced awards for multiple contract

wins from various energy companies in the

US Gulf of Mexico and Asia Pacific valued at

over US$70 million.

Operationally, EMAS AMC’s project-

enabling asset and flagship vessel Lewek

Constellation, an ice-classed multilay offshore

construction vessel with ultra-deepwater

pipelaying and heavy-lift capabilities, is

expected to become fully operational in the

first quarter of 2015 and will be employed for

its maiden deepwater pipelay project in 2015.

It has already undertaken heavy projects

offshore West Africa, including a US$120

million project for Vaalco Gabon (Etame)

Inc offshore Gabon in West Africa. The work

scope for the transportation and installation

project includes two jackets, topsides, flare

booms and living quarters for the Etame and

Southeast Etame/North Tchibala (SEENT)

platforms along with the installation of new

living quarters and a gas lift package onto the

floating production, storage and offloading

vessel Nautipa.

Mr Lee said Ezra Holdings had achieved

healthy revenue growth of 23 per cent

compound annual growth rate over the last

three years, driven by strong performance

of EMAS AMC. “With Lewek Constellation

soon to be fully operational, we remain

optimistic and confident that the vessel

will be leading the group’s future and we

will be able to achieve our desired levels of

economies of scale in the next three to five

years by driving operational efficiency to

optimise profitability.”

In addition, EMAS Offshore Ltd,

a consolidation of EOC Ltd and EMAS

Marine, was successfully dual listed on

the mainboard of the Singapore Exchange

Securities Trading Ltd on 8 October 2014.

With this move, said Ezra, the company

has created a platform for investors to tap

the Asia Pacific and European markets and

enable the group to focus on its subsea

services business while continuing to

participate in the growth of the offshore

support services business. Mr Lee said

he anticipated that EMAS Offshore Ltd

would capture greater market share

and expand into the growing deepwater

offshore accommodation segment in future.

For FY14, the group saw lower revenue

contribution from its offshore support

services division, EMAS Marine, with a

decrease of US$25.4 million.

Triyards, Ezra’s marine services division,

recently secured a new liftboat contract

worth US$50.5 million, bringing its total

liftboat contracts won since 2005 to date to

14. Triyards also announced the acquisition

of Strategic Marine’s yards in Singapore and

Vietnam, which adds yard capacity as well as

aluminium craft fabrication capabilities.

Overall, the group maintains a healthy

backlog of approximately US$2.4 billion, with

most contracts expected to be executed over

the next 12–18 months. OSJ

Lionel Lee-led Ezra Holdings has come to rely on the subsea market for much of its growth and is looking to its newbuild heavy-lift/installation/pipelay unit Lewek Constellation to help drive profit from that sector

Lee looks to Constellation for economies of scale

24Lionel Lee

Lionel Lee: “Lewek Constellation will help drive economies of scale”


A glance at Solstad Offshore’s results

for the third quarter of 2014 confirms

once again the key role that its

construction support vessels (CSVs) play.

Speaking at the time that the company

announced its latest set of results, Lars

Peder Solstad, Solstad Offshore’s owner and

chief executive officer, said net revenues

had reached an all-time high in the quarter

of NKr1,127 million (US$165.6 million).

Adjusted EBITDA was NKr583 million

(US$85.7 million) and adjusted EBITDA

margin was 50 per cent.

Mr Solstad said strong operational

performance in the CSV segment (including

DLB Norce Endeavour) combined with a

favourable North Sea spot market for the

anchor-handling tug/supply (AHTS) vessels

segment primarily accounted for the record-

breaking performance. Net revenues in

the year to date were NKr2,846 million

(US$418.3 million) with adjusted EBITDA of

NKr1,320 million (US$194 million). A new

share buy-back programme of up to 385,000

shares, corresponding to 1 per cent of issued

shares, has also recently been approved by Mr

Solstad and his board.

Recent months have seen the delivery

of another high spec CSV in the form of

Normand Vision, which commenced an eight-

year charter with Ocean Installer shortly

after delivery.

Mr Solstad said that financing of

newbuild and refinancing of the current part

of Solstad’s long-term debt was proceeding

according to plan.

He noted that the subsea market continued

to be driven by solid fundamentals and that

the large subsea players have a substantial

backlog. “Worldwide subsea activity was still

at a high level,” he noted, but some projects

are being postponed. Even so, he believes,

there are still long-term opportunities for

vessel owners such as Solstad that have

invested in high spec vessels.

Solstad continues to have a strong position

in the subsea sector and favourable market

exposure with a total of 19 CSVs working for

almost all of the main players. The company

has one more CSV on order with a long-term

charter from delivery. At the time of writing, it

had some availability in the fourth quarter of

2014 and first quarter of 2015 but overall had

solid contract coverage for the entire CSV fleet,

which enjoyed a 96 per cent utilisation level in

the third quarter of 2014.

The company has taken delivery of two

new CSVs recently, in June and July, and both

started on long-term contracts, further

strengthening Solstad’s position in the

subsea segment.

As Mr Solstad also highlighted, the

company benefited from strong activity

and healthy rates in the North Sea anchor

handler spot market from August onwards.

He described the outlook in this segment

as positive in the medium to long term but

drew attention to the growing number of rigs

that have been laid up and the large number

of deepwater rigs due to be delivered in the

coming years that could adversely affect the

supply/demand balance. “In addition,” he

said, “the number of larger anchor handlers

under construction has increased, but that

having been said, the short-term market is

good, with increased international bidding

activity.” Solstad has a substantial AHTS

operation with 19 vessels trading worldwide

so could, potentially, be exposed to any

decline in demand.

Echoing comments from other leading

players, Mr Solstad said the PSV segment in

the North Sea had been slower than expected.

New companies and the total number of

vessels have put pressure on day rates, and

there are still many new vessels that are

under construction.

Looking ahead, he said, long-term

demand for CSVs is expected to continue

to be strong, and the company’s focus on

long-term contracts for this type of vessel

will help his company to secure predictable

EBITDA. OSJ

Focusing on long-term contracts for its construction support vessels continues to pay dividends for Lars Peder Solstad’s offshore vessel company

Solstad sees revenues hit an all-time high

Lars Peder Solstad25

Lars Peder Solstad: “focusing on CSVs has paid off and helps to secure EBITDA”

Solstad’s CSVs are almost all on long-term contracts


J ean Cahuzac has been chief executive

officer of Subsea 7 since April 2008 and

an executive member of the board of

directors since May 2008, during which time the

company has invested hugely in new vessels.

Mr Cahuzac has more than 30 years’ experience

in the offshore oil and gas industry, having

held various technical and senior management

positions around the world. From 2000 until

April 2008, he worked at Transocean in Houston,

US, where he held the positions of chief

operating officer and then president, prior to

the merger with Global SantaFe. Prior to this,

he worked at Schlumberger from 1979 to 2000

where he served in various positions.

Writing in a recent in-house publication,

Mr Cahuzac noted that his aim for Subsea

7 was that it should continually build upon

and sustain its competitive edge in what he

described as “an increasingly complex and

competitive market”.

“We have an excellent track record in

bringing key technical innovations to market,”

he said, “but it is clear we need to keep pushing

the boundaries. Technology is playing an

increasingly important role in the solutions

we offer our clients and is becoming a more

important differentiator than ever before. Not

only does technology allow us to help our clients

lower their costs in difficult environments but

it is also a critical success factor in improving

operational efficiency.

He explained that Subsea 7 is “shifting up a

gear” in its offering to clients around the world.

“Technology is not our only area of focus,” he

said. “Sharpening our competitive edge also

means continuing our focus on how we work

and how to simplify our processes, ensuring

we are managing our costs carefully as well

as improving efficiency in our project delivery.

Moreover, through close collaboration with our

clients, partners and supply chain, I look forward

to seeing Subsea 7 lead the industry in terms of

efficiency, innovation, project excellence and

above all safety. Whatever we do, we have to put

safety first.”

Mr Cahuzac and his colleagues at Subsea

7 have spoken of the need to be “number one

or number two in everything that we do in the

subsea engineering and construction sector,

and to maintain that position, we need to

evaluate our service offering at every level”.

He agreed that the market is changing and

that, after approximately three years of post-

merger growth, an early sense that things were

softening necessitated the shift in how the

company approaches the market and evaluates

how best to win projects and maintain or grow

its share of the business available.

Until recently, with the oil price at around

US$106 per barrel, Subsea 7’s clients were

still free cash flow negative. Since then, of

course, the oil price has fallen steeply. The

market had been growing at 6–7 per cent

in the three years since the merger, but

there have been an unprecedented number

of projects being cancelled or deferred, and

Subsea 7 has seen clients recycling projects

to try and reduce costs, which means that

contractors such as Subsea 7 can end up

bidding the same project a number of times

over an extended period. “This is quite new

to us. It has never happened with the oil

price so healthy,” said Subsea 7, so it will be

interesting to see how it reacts to the recent

oil price decline. “The industry has a history

of overrunning on schedule and on budget,”

said a colleague of Mr Cahuzac’s, referring to

a recent study that revealed that more than

70 per cent of operators’ projects are not

completed on time and more than 50 per cent

are not on budget. “No other industry would

tolerate that. It’s just not sustainable. We

have to be more cost-effective,” he said.

Mr Cahuzac and his colleagues at Subsea 7

say they are also seeing increased competition

with a number of new entrants in certain

sectors of the market. It is, they say, a

complicated backdrop – a cyclical and evolving

market, which is becoming more crowded with

changing client requirements, cost constraints

and deeper and more challenging operating

environments. Technology development and

commercialisation will therefore be front and

centre of the new approach from Subsea

7, and by identifying and creating strategic

technology development programmes with

detailed timelines and deliverables and

someone in charge of each programme, the

company hopes to ensure the focus of the

entire group is on developing the capabilities

of the company as a whole.

The emphasis on technology investment

focuses on several key areas that Subsea 7,

under its long-term strategic plan, believes

are set to become leading differentiators in its

service proposition – riser systems, pipelines

and bundles, subsea compression, life-of-field

and remote intervention and composites.

Announcing Subsea 7’s third quarter

2014 results, Mr Cahuzac said the company

had continued to deliver strong operational

performance, which supported the solid

financial results. “As we have indicated

consistently throughout 2014, uncertainty

remains over the timing of market awards

for most large SURF projects. This trend was

particularly evident in the third quarter when

a number of potential market awards were

postponed to 2015 and beyond. The decline in

crude oil prices, which began at the start of

the third quarter, is adding to the uncertainty

over our clients’ timing to proceed with field

development projects.” However, as he also

noted, the company’s order backlog and

execution plans for projects underway provide

a sound basis for 2015, despite the deferral

of awards that the industry is currently

experiencing. OSJ

Subsea 7 CEO Jean Cahuzac says he wants to use technology development to help Subsea 7 distinguish itself from its competitors in what is an increasingly competitive environment

Cahuzac homes in on technology as a differentiator

26Jean Cahuzac

Jean Cahuzac says technology is playing an increasingly important role in the solutions Subsea 7 offers clients


D OF ASA is an international group of

companies involved in the ownership

and operation of a fleet of platform

supply vessels (PSVs), anchor-handling tug/

supply (AHTS) vessels and subsea vessels

and service companies offering services to the

subsea market. The group has a modern fleet

of vessels, with an average age of less than

seven years.

Mr Aase’s experience in finance and

shipbroking will have been invaluable to him

and the company since he became CEO. He

holds an MSc from the Norwegian Institute

of Technology, and a Cand Merc from the

Norwegian School of Economics and Business

Administration in Bergen.

Mr Aase said DOF group’s operating

income for the third quarter was NKr 2,772

million (NKr 2,634 million) with an operating

profit before depreciation (EBITDA) of NKr

914 million (NKr 909 million), which was an

all-time high. Operating profit was NKr 600

million (NKr 17 million). Year-to-date the

group reported operating income and EBITDA

of NKr 7,803 million (NKr 7,121 million)

and NKr 2,740 million (NKr 2,288 million)

respectively. Net profit was NKr 109 million

compared with NKr 164 million, partly as a

result of currency losses.

The average utilisation for the group’s

fleet during the third quarter was 92 per cent.

The subsea fleet had an utilisation of 93 per

cent, the AHTS fleet 91 per cent and the PSV

fleet 92 per cent. The group had one AHTS

and five PSVs in the North Sea spot market

and experienced higher revenues compared

to the second quarter. DOF Subsea had in the

period 11 vessels in the subsea project market,

with an utilisation of 86 per cent. Four of the

vessels are chartered from external owners. On

1 October a subsidiary of DOF Subsea signed

an agreement to sell the vessel Skandi Skolten.

The vessel is to be delivered to the new owners

in the fourth quarter. The sale of the vessel

including subsea equipment is expected to

release cash in the amount of NKr 650 million,

after repayment of debt.

In a presentation released to coincide

with publication of the third quarter results,

Mr Aase said that in the subsea market,

utilisation in the Asia Pacific was variable

utilisation, but project execution was good; in

the North Sea the company’s subsea vessels

saw a high level of utilisation and good

project execution. Contrastingly, in the Gulf of

Mexico, utilisation was relatively low but there

was increased activity due to more vessels

being in operation. In the anchor handler

(AHTS)/platform supply vessel (PSV) segment

the North Sea saw reasonable utilization and

earnings from the spot market. In Brazil

utilisation levels improved and in the Asia

Pacific utilisation was stable, but the company

had one vessel idle in September.

Analysing the returns compared to book

value of its vessels, Mr Aase said the figure

was 7.1 per cent for PSVs, 6.5 per cent for

AHTS, and 12.8 per cent for subsea vessels.

DOF’s fleet is 55 per cent subsea vessels, 27

per cent AHTS and 18 per cent PSV, and its

remaining newbuilding programme is 80 per

cent subsea and 20 per cent AHTS with no

PSV newbuildings.

Returning to the subsea market he said that

in the APAC region construction in Australia is

slowing down, but being replaced by inspection,

maintenance and repair work. “Operator

spend is slowing,” he said. The nature of the

competition is changing, although there is a

high level of tendering activity, and several long

term opportunities. He said he expects demand

growth and higher vessel utilisation offshore

Brazil and steady/increased demand in the

Gulf of Mexico, where DOF is a relatively new

player. “We expect gradually increased market

share and higher vessel utilisation,” he said.

“We expect Norway to slow down significantly

in 2015 due to less activity, mainly from Statoil.

We expect also the UK to slow down in 2015,

but because there are more independent

companies in the UK market it will slow down

less than Norway.” He expects a high level of

subsea activity offshore West Africa.

Turning to the supply vessel market, Mr

Aase expects increased demand for DOF’s

vessels in Brazil but in the North Sea he expects

the AHTS market to continue to be volatile,

with lower utilisation and rates than in the

third quarter of 2014. “We expect a challenging

market for PSVs in the North Sea in the next

6-9 months,” he said.

Mr Aase said that overall, DOF expects

operational EBITDA in the fourth quarter to

be slightly weaker than in the third quarter.

Based on oil companies’ increased focus on

cost reduction and an oil price below US$

100/barrel, the board of directors expects the

market to be volatile and unsteady for the

coming 12 months.

DOF also recently announced that it had

won a lawsuit against the Norwegian Central

Tax Office (Sentralskattekontoret) regarding

‘extra correction tax’ for 2008, which has been

found to be in contravention of legislation

for the current tax year. The lawsuit is related

to an earlier case related to the Norwegian

Tonnage tax regime. As a result of the ruling, the

company will be reimbursed approximately NKr

40 million in taxes and legal costs related to the

proceedings. OSJ

Anticipating a slowdown in the offshore vessel market as a whole, DOF’s CEO Mons Aase plans to concentrate activity on markets that are less likely to be affected by the falling oil price and invest in more profitable segments, primarily the subsea sector

Subsea ships give Aase best returns compared to value

Mons Aase27

Mons Aase: “offshore market could be volatile in next 12 months”

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The 25 most infl uential people in the offshore support vessel industry – the trendsetters, dealmakers, innovators and individuals with a commitment to excellence, safety and meeting customer requirements

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“OCIMF is very concerned at the fragmentation in the control and issue of DP certifi cation. Formation of several issuing bodies with different standards is not an ideal situation.”John Flynn, offshore assurance superintendent, BP Shipping

dynamicpositioning

guide to2014 • A supplement to Offshore Support Journal

Fast-moving DP sector at a crossroadsBP concerned by assurance, certifi cation and inappropriate use

Evolving sector infl uenced by many changes

osv shipbuilders

guide to


Chinese yards building ever more offshore vessels

Norwegian design expertise exported

around the world

European shipyards find roles as

niche builders

“Customising proven concepts, ‘keeping it simple’ and being competitive in terms of costs are what we do best and are big part of our success.”Patrick Janssens, director, De Hoop Shipyard

Free supplements

For global vessel operators who are always eager to keep tabs on the up-to-date developments in the offshore oil and gas industry, OSJ should be a natural choice.Kelvin Teo, POSH Semco Pte Ltd


F inn Amund Norbye, CEO at Deep

Sea Supply, has a long, international

career in shipping and finance. Prior to

becoming CEO at the company, he was CFO

at Deep Sea Supply and before that was CFO

of Bergshav Management. From 1999 to 2001,

he was director and head of Fortis Bank’s

shipping division in Rotterdam, and prior to

that, he worked 12 years with Christiania Bank’s

shipping department. From 1996 to 1999, he

was head of the bank’s shipping department

in Singapore, and from 1993 to 1996, he was

head of the bank’s shipping department in

London. Prior to joining Christiania Bank,

Mr Norbye worked with Storebrand Finans,

Norges Eksportråd (in Stockholm, Sweden) and

Electrolux (in Bangkok, Thailand). He holds a

master’s degree from the Norwegian School of

Economics and Business Administration and

Stockholm School of Economics.

Deep Sea Supply, the company he leads,

is quoted on the Oslo bourse and backed by

billionaire shipping magnate John Fredriksen.

As highlighted in the 2013 OSJ Industry Leaders

supplement, given that the company was set

up as recently as 2005, its progress has been

remarkable, not least the rate at which it has

entered key markets such as Brazil.

The most important development at the

company in 2014 saw the acquisition of 10

new vessels and newbuildings and a US$200

million private placement, which pretty much

doubled its market capitalisation. On 2 June

2014, the company announced the acquisition

of 10 newbuild platform supply vessels (PSVs)

from PSV Holding Inc, a company affiliated

with Hemen Holding. Six of the 10 newbuilds

were delivered in 2013/14 and the remaining

units in 2014. The total price paid for the vessels,

including remaining capex, was US$366 million.

Deep Sea Supply raised US$200 million

through the private placement to partly finance

the acquisition of the vessels. Financing for

six vessels was secured at the time, with

bank financing for the remaining four vessels

following shortly afterwards. Demand for a piece

of the company was high, and the share issue

was completed very quickly.

As Mr Norbye noted at the time, the acquisition

of 10 new vessels with attractive breakeven rates

was expected to improve the company’s ability

to pay competitive dividends over time, and

the company decided to reintroduce quarterly

dividend payments and started doing so by

distributing US$0.02 per share for the second

quarter of 2014.

In October 2014, Deep Sea Supply’s fleet of 23

PSVs had an average gross income of approximately

US$19,200 per ship per day, which was the same

average gross income as in September 2014. The

company’s fleet of 14 anchor-handling tug/supply

(AHTS) vessels had an average gross income

of approximately US$18,600 per ship per day

compared to US$21,400 in September 2014. Nine

of the AHTS vessels and 12 of the PSVs are owned

50 per cent by Deep Sea Supply through DESS BTG

in Brazil. Three PSVs and one AHTS mobilising

during the month negatively affected the average

rate. The newly delivered PSVs Sea Swift and Sea

Triumph were not included in these figures. (The

company took delivery of Sea Swift on 23 October,

following which it had 15 AHTS vessels and

25 PSVs in operation.)

Recent weeks have seen the company secure

a flurry of contracts and contract extensions.

Petrobras in Brazil agreed to extend the charter

contracts for the PSVs Sea Halibut and Sea Bass

by one year plus three one-year extension

options. The new firm period of the contract

ends in July 2015. September 2014 saw the

company announce multiple contract awards

with an international subsea contractor for a

total duration of approximately 1,000 vessel days.

Three PSVs of PX105 design – Sea Spider, Sea

Springer and Sea Spark – were awarded contracts

for 10, 10 and four months respectively. The AHTS

Sea Lynx was awarded a contract to be performed

in two phases: the first phase of 40 days and

second phase of 250 days.

Commencement was expected in November

2014 for the three PSVs and phase 1 for Sea

Lynx and May 2015 for phase 2 for Sea Lynx. In

addition to the firm periods, the contracts also

contain option periods.

The company’s third-quarter results were due

to be published as this supplement went to press,

but for the six-month period ended 30 June 2014,

the company reported consolidated revenues of

US$75.0 million, EBITDA of US$38.8 million

and a pre-tax result of US$8.1 million.

Comparing second-quarter 2014 financial

figures with the first quarter of 2014, revenues

increased by US$4.3 million or 12 per cent. The

company said the main reasons for the increase

were the commencement of term contracts

for PSVs and improved utilisation of large

AHTS vessels. The vessels’ operating expenses

increased by US$2.3 million between the first

and second quarters, which was mainly due

to the new vessels coming into operation and

higher maintenance costs. OSJ

Finn Amund Norbye, Deep Sea Supply’s CEO, doesn’t focus exclusively on the North Sea market – the company is active around the world, and the acquisition earlier this year of new vessels has enabled it to make dividend payments that others couldn’t contemplate

Finn Amund Norbye28Norbye says acquisitions will restart dividend payments

Finn Amund Norbye: “vessel acquisition should enable dividend payments to be made”


A leading provider of offshore

marine services to the global oil

and gas industry, Østensjø Rederi

was established in 1974 by Johannes

Østensjø. Based in Haugesund, Norway,

the company has around 600 employees

(including approximately 50 onshore), and

had revenues in 2012 of NKr1,250 million

(US$184 million) and EBITDA of NKr365

million (US$54 million).

Mr Østensjø is chairman of Østensjø Rederi

and remains the sole shareholder in the

company. He is well known for his commitment

to innovation and to working with the supply

chain to develop advanced, fuel-efficient, safe

and environmentally friendly ships.

Mr Østensjø was one of two leading industry

figures who formed DeepOcean, which is

also represented in this special supplement

to OSJ. (The company was later spun off, but

remains one of Østensjø’s biggest customers.)

In addition, few individuals or companies can

claim to have taken delivery of what was, at the

time, the world’s largest platform supply vessel

(Edda Fjord), commissioned what was the largest

escort tug in the world at the time that it entered

service (Ajax, 2000) and, in 2011, taken delivery

of what was the first of a totally new class of

accommodation vessels.

Mr Østensjø’s companies have done all of

the above and much more, but in Edda Ferd, the

latest addition to its fleet, it can lay claim to

yet another potential first – what it believes to

be the world’s most environmentally friendly

supply vessel.

Østensjø has always focused on delivering

high quality marine services in the offshore

and towage sectors worldwide. Apart from

its focus on advanced vessels, it has also

always focused on recruiting and training

quality staff to deliver a quality service,

turning Østensjø into one of the most highly

regarded marine services companies in the

world. And the management at Mr Østensjø’s

company has never been afraid of investing

in its fleet or pioneering new technologies

to make its ships safer, greener and more

efficient. Most marine services firms claim to

have the most advanced ships, but Østensjø

never purchases vessels off the shelf, instead

working with shipbuilders and its own

specialists to produce what are, effectively,

bespoke vessels – a technique that has seen

the company pioneer dozens of innovations

that have become ‘best in breed’ across the

rest of the industry and the world. It was,

for instance, the first company to install the

Voith Schneider propeller on its offshore

vessels, making them more efficient, more

manoeuvrable and much more responsive

than conventional vessels.

Towards the end of 2013, Østensjø Rederi

signed a contract with Kleven shipyard in

Norway for construction of a 150m offshore

construction vessel (OCV) intended for the

subsea umbilicals, risers and flowlines market.

The total value of the contract is NKr1.4 billion

(US$206 million), which, at that time, was

the largest contract ever awarded to Kleven.

The advanced Salt 304 OCV design will be

equipped with a 400-tonne crane, 70-tonne

crane, vertical lay system and carousel. The

vessel is due to be delivered by Kleven Verft

in Ulsteinvik, Norway, in the first quarter of

2016 and will enter into a long-term charter

with DeepOcean.

2015 will see Edda Accommodation, which

is part of Østensjø Rederi, take delivery of

a second monohull offshore accommodation

vessel. The vessel, Edda TBN, is being built

at Hyundai Heavy Industries Co Ltd. The

company said that, by placing this order, Edda

Accommodation is expanding the commercial

and technical success of its existing

accommodation vessel, Edda Fides.

“This next-generation offshore

accommodation vessel, designed by Salt Ship

Design, is 155m long and will have a total

accommodation capacity of 800 persons in

one or two-men cabins,” said the company

at the time that the vessel was ordered.

“The interior of the vessel is of executive

standard and will include 850m2 office space

as well as recreation areas, such as a modern

gym, sauna, two swimming pools, conference

rooms and an auditorium.” The newbuild

will be equipped with a heave compensated

telescopic gangway with a length of 55.5m.

In addition, a cargo deck area of 2,000m2,

a 120-tonne rig support crane and two

supply cranes will make the vessel highly

suitable for cargo handling and construction

support. When finished, the vessel will

provide construction support and additional

living quarters for support personnel

during commissioning, maintenance and

decommissioning of offshore installations

worldwide. The vessel is also designed for

operating in Arctic areas.

Early in 2014, HitecVision announced a

growth capital investment in DeepWell AS, a well

intervention company serving oil companies

with wireline and other well intervention

services on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.

Established in 2006, DeepWell is based in

Haugesund, Norway, and its main shareholders

are Østensjø Rederi and Solstad, who have

supported the company as industrial investors

since its inception. OSJ

Known for its commitment to advanced, environmentally friendly designs, Østensjø Rederi has a large offshore construction vessel and another accommodation vessel on order

Østensjø newbuilds due to be delivered in 2015/16

29Johannes Østensjø

Johannes Østensjø’s company will take delivery of its new offshore construction vessel in 2016


30 Gunvor Ulstein

T owards the end of 2014, Norway’s Ulstein

Group confirmed that its innovative

X-BOW hullform design had been selected

as an illustration on a Norwegian bank note. The

company explained that eight artists were invited

to participate in a contest arranged by the Bank

of Norway to design artwork for a new banknote.

The topic was ‘the ocean’. No fewer than three of

the artists were inspired by the X-BOW, and the

winner, The Metric System/Terje Tønnesen, have

used the X-BOW hull profile on their design for a

new 100 kroner note.

Few companies can also claim to have

invented something that completely changed

the way vessels are designed and built, but

Gunvor Ulstein and her colleagues at Ulstein

Group can with the X-BOW.

Mrs Ulstein was born in 1969 and is a

graduate of the Norwegian School of Economics

and Business Administration in Bergen. Earlier

in her career, she was a sales manager at

Ulstein Bergen and managing director of Ulstein

Verft. She is deputy chairman of the Norwegian

Broadcasting Corporation’s Board (NRK) and on

the advisory board at DNB. She is also on the

board of several companies in the Ulstein Group

and was a member of the executive committee of

the Federation of Norwegian Industries and the

council at classification society DNV (where she

was also vice president of the council). She has

also been a board member at Eksportfinans, a

member of the Norwegian Minister of Trade and

Industry’s council for maritime development and

member of the executive committee at Norges

Bank. She was awarded Business Woman of the

Year in 2006 and WISTA’s Shipping Name of the

Year award in 2008. In 2011, she was awarded

the Seatrade Young Person in Shipping Award.

In 2013, she received a gold medal from Tekna

and HR-Norway’s prize for leadership ‘Kunsten

å lede’ (The art of management).

2014 seems to have been another sucessful

one for Mrs Ulstein, with a number of important

milestones and the unveiling of the X-STERN

(see page 47), which is derived from work on

the X-BOW.

2014 saw the number of vessels ordered

based on the company’ s PX121 platform supply

vessel (PSV) design reach 30, with contracts for

Wuchang Shipbuilding and Otto Offshore. The

first PX121 vessels entered service in 2012.

The PX121 is a medium-sized PSV that

has received excellent feedback due to a

favourable combination of fuel efficiency and

load capacity. According to one shipowner,

“The PX121 is part of the new generation

of PSVs and offers, especially in harsher

environments, a unique combination of

world-class client service delivery, high

efficiency and impressive crew comfort.”

Mrs Ulstein and her colleagues believe that

the company’s design success can in some ways

be explained by having their own shipyard

at which the prototypes, such as the PX121s,

are constructed. Here, the group can bring

customers in, demonstrating a design from

concept drawings to completed offshore vessels.

The company is continuously developing designs

and solutions for the future in close dialogue

and co-operation with shipowners, suppliers and

classification societies.

A new type of vessel based on the X-BOW

design is a rock installation vessel ordered by Van

Oord in the Netherlands. To be built by Sinopacific

in China, the vessel will be delivered in 2016.

Vessels of this type are used to provide

protection and stabilisation of offshore structures

and pipelines, which is one of Van Oord’s main

activities for its clients in the oil and gas

industry. The vessel, which will have a DP3

dynamic positioning system, will be suitable for

installation of a wide range of rock sizes.

With a deadweight of 14,000 tonnes, a length

of 154m and a beam of 28m, the vessel can

operate in water depths of more than 6,000m

and will have accommodation on board for 60

people. Working in close co-operation with the

owner, Ulstein Group paid special attention

during the design phase to the energy efficiency

of the bow and hull as a whole. The vessel will

have a Green Passport, Cleanship notation and

ice class 1A – PC7. OSJ

CEO sees design enjoy ever wider currency

Gunvor Ulstein: “having our own yard helps”

Ulstein’s iconic X-BOW design is being used on a new banknote

Not many offshore vessel designers or naval architects of any type can say that their vessels are featured on the bank notes in their country, but Gunvor Ulstein, CEO of Ulstein Group and managing director of Ulstein Shipping, has that singular honour

www.topazworld.com / [email protected] / +971 4 440 47 00

We can safely say we go the extra mile, or howevermany are needed.Topaz’s award-winning service can be credited to an unwavering focus on safety and quality. In addition, our modern fleet of more than 95 vessels is, on average, only 7 years old, which enables us to remain a cost-effective, reliable and safe solution to our clients.

For a comprehensive range of offshore support vessel services, please contact Topaz Energy and Marine.


www.topazworld.com / [email protected] / +971 4 440 47 00

We can safely say we go the extra mile, or howevermany are needed.Topaz’s award-winning service can be credited to an unwavering focus on safety and quality. In addition, our modern fleet of more than 95 vessels is, on average, only 7 years old, which enables us to remain a cost-effective, reliable and safe solution to our clients.

For a comprehensive range of offshore support vessel services, please contact Topaz Energy and Marine.

31Tore Ulstein

A s deputy CEO and chief market and

innovation officer at Ulstein Group

in Norway, Tore Ulstein is, as his job

title suggests, responsible for innovation in the

company, and 2014 has certainly seen more of

that from the Norwegian firm. A new hullform

– the X-STERN – has been added to its now well

known X-BOW design concept.

In addition to innovation, Mr Ulstein’s

other main focus area is internationalisation,

and the success that his company has achieved

on the international stage in the last year is

testimony to the way that Ulstein Group has

transitioned from a shipbuilder to being a

leading offshore ship designer with its designs

built around the world.

Mr Ulstein has long managerial experience

at Ulstein Group, both as managing director

of Ulstein Verft and for Ulstein Design &

Solutions. He has a PhD in engineering from

the Norwegian University of Science and

Technology (NTNU) with hydrodynamics his

focus area. He has been chairman of the board

of Ulstein Group since 2011, having served as

deputy chairman since 2007.

Mr Ulstein is also president of the

Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise, a

member of the Federation of Norwegian

Industries’ Innovation Committee, a member

of the corporate assembly of Statoil, Norway’s

state-owned oil company, and a board member

of the division for innovation at the Research

Council of Norway.

Following the success of the X-BOW design

for offshore support vessels (OSVs), 2014 saw

Ulstein Group unveil a new concept for the aft

section of vessels. The new design was unveiled

at the Offshore Northern Seas exhibition and

conference in Norway in September.

The new design concept draws on Ulstein’s

experience with the X-BOW and will, says the

company, enhance the operability of vessels

using dynamic positioning (DP) and improve

station keeping and comfort on board.

As highlighted in the November 2014 issue

of OSJ, the X-STERN could be adapted for the

design of well intervention vessels, pipelay ships

and heavy-duty subsea construction vessels,

claims the company. The concept could also be

employed on designs for floating production,

storage and offloading vessels and drillships, all

of which need highly reliable station-keeping

capabilities in poor weather and sea conditions.

Last but by no means least, the X-STERN could

also be applied to smaller OSVs, such as platform

supply vessels that operate on DP mode when

close to rigs and production platforms.

Computer modelling has shown that the

X-STERN improves the response of the vessel

to wave action, reducing slamming and waves

striking the main deck, even in harsh conditions.

It means that a vessel with the X-STERN could

remain in position in harsh weather with the

stern positioned towards the waves, wind and

currents instead of positioning the bow towards

the weather, which would otherwise be the

master’s natural choice.

As the company points out, in some cases,

vessels cannot choose which heading to operate

on. Usually the stern is exposed to waves coming

in, which adversely affects the main deck, so

Ulstein created a rounded stern in order to

reduce wave reflection and reduce the energy

needed for DP operations by around 20–25 per

cent. With X-STERN, there is a higher tapered

covered main deck, reducing wave impacts.

On a vessel with the X-STERN, the preferred

direction would be to operate with the stern

facing the weather, reducing forces at the aft

end. This allows operations to be maintained

in worse conditions and provide greater vessel

control as the propellers will be facing the

weather. This is a major advantage for increasing

the DP capabilities. Operators could weathervane

to stabilise the vessel. With the stern facing the

weather, the vessel would be less influenced by

the weather, and wave drift would be reduced.

The X-STERN design is a sloping, higher

stern, allowing for a sharp stern shape in which

the transom plate is replaced by a pointed

aft form. It is what the company describes as

“a gentle displacer”, resulting in lower pitch

and reduced wave drift forces as well as lower

slamming forces on the hull. It would also have

good ice operation capability. The positive effects

are reduced power and fuel consumption while

the vessel is in DP mode or the possibility of

operating in a wider weather window with the

same power consumption. The working deck aft

is enclosed, with no sea on deck or ice build-

up, increasing safety for the crew, cargo and

equipment on a vessel. This would result in a

loss of deck area, but Ulstein believes that an

OSV design could be adapted to minimise any

loss of space.

Ulstein is waiting for patents on the design,

said Mr Ulstein. “An innovation process is

a long one in which we work strategically

in order to come up with safer, smarter and

greener solutions,” he said. “We discuss

operational challenges with our customers and

work on how to transfer these challenges into

technical solutions, which can be turned into

commercial products. The X-STERN is patent-

pending in several countries, including the US

and in the EU.” OSJ

Tore Ulstein’s company is already known around the world for its innovative X-BOW hullform – 2014 saw it unveil another, similar concept that could make offshore vessels more effective

Norwegian innovator unveils another ‘X’ hullform

Tore Ulstein: “we discuss operational challenges with our customers and work out technical solutions”


I t is part of Eidesvik Offshore’s ethos to

innovate, and Viking Lady, an offshore supply

vessel (OSV) in daily operation in the North

Sea, is a prime example of that approach as was

highlighted at the Greener Shipping Summit –

Ships of the Future conference, which took place

in Athens in November.

As a presentation from classification

society DNV GL highlighted, the vessel could

lead the way to a significant improvement in

the safety and efficiency of high risk offshore

operations. The subject of the presentation

was a battery hybrid propulsion system that

is being tested on Viking Lady as part of an

ongoing research programme that started life

as the FellowSHIP research and development

project between DNV GL, Eidesvik Offshore

and Wärtsilä with funding from the Research

Council of Norway.

DNV GL Research & Innovation is

working together with shipping companies

and manufacturers to realise projects like

FellowSHIP that advance the industry’s ‘state

of the art.’ Eidesvik is an ideal partner for such

an initiative, enabling researchers to progress

from the generation of an idea through a

fusion of innovative scientific approaches to

technology development and full-scale testing in

a structured and effective way.

Viking Lady uses a conventional diesel-electric

propulsion system comprising four dual-fuel

engines driving five thrusters for propulsion and

manoeuvring/dynamic positioning (DP). In the

latest stage of the project, a lithium-ion battery

with a capacity of 450 kWh was added, enabling

the vessel to use hybrid-electric propulsion. The

battery acts as an ‘energy buffer’ that is able to

cover the intense load variations that can occur,

especially in DP and standby operations. This

effectively increases the propulsion system’s

available power and redundancy, thereby

increasing the level of safety in high risk

operations. This means that the gensets can

operate with a relatively constant load and in an

optimal way – making operations safer and more

energy efficient.

The battery hybrid installation has been

tested at sea, and trials show that a 15 per cent

reduction in fuel consumption, 25 per cent

reduction in NOx emissions and 30 per cent

reduction in greenhouse gas emissions can be

realised in practice, especially for DP operations.

Considering that the global fleet of offshore

supply vessels of relevant sizes is over 4,000,

this kind of technology has the potential to

make an impact when it comes to improving the

sustainability of the sector.

For Jan Fredrik Meling, Eidesvik Offshore’s

managing director and chief executive officer,

this kind of forward-thinking commitment

to R&D has long been a cornerstone of the

way the company operates. He leads a family-

owned company that has played a unique role

not just in the development of the battery

power system highlighted above but in the

growing acceptance of liquefied natural gas

(LNG) as a fuel.

A growing number of OSV owners are

adopting LNG-fuelled vessels, as are owners

of several other different vessel types, but it

was Eidesvik that led the way in the adoption

of LNG. In 2003, the company launched the

world’s first LNG-powered offshore vessel,

opening a new era of reduced NOx and CO2

emissions. The company still has the largest

fleet of offshore vessels running on natural gas,

having taken delivery of its first, Viking Energy –

the world’s first LNG-fuelled vessel – more than

a decade ago.

Viking Lady has also been used to test the

potential of fuel cells as a power source – an

initiative that also took place under the auspices

of the FellowSHIP project. OSJ

Not many shipowners have their vessels described as “a floating laboratory”, but Eidesvik Offshore’s Viking Lady is just such a vessel

Battery trials highlight commitment to R&D

Jan Fredrik Meling32

Jan Fredrik Meling and his colleagues have a longstanding commitment to innovation and to assisting with R&D projects

Viking Lady is being used to test the potential of battery-augmented power on offshore vessels


33Wes Bordelon

B ordelon Marine is celebrating its 35th

anniversary this year. Throughout its

history, the company has maintained

a family-oriented culture and established

a positive presence in the local community

and a longstanding trust with its vendors and

employees alike.

The company is a leading provider of marine

transportation services to the oil and gas industry

in the Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere and offers

a range of offshore vessels supporting activity

such as construction support, exploration,

production, remotely operated vehicle (ROV)

and dive support, oceanographic research and

survey, well stimulation as well as military and

special operations support.

Wes Bordelon took the helm at Bordelon

Marine in 1999 at the end of a cycle of the

family business that had seen several periods

of growth and decline. Beginning in 2000,

he implemented a programme that ultimately

rebuilt the company’s fleet though newbuilds

and acquisitions while simultaneously

diversifying and solidifying its customer base.

Bordelon Marine now operates a fleet of

mini-supply vessels along with 260ft dynamic

positioning (DP2) vessels. The company also

started a shipyard in 2011, specifically to

build its deepwater Stingray 260 DP2 vessels.

Bordelon Marine currently has one Stingray-

class vessel in operation, which is working as a

well stimulation vessel for Baker Hughes, along

with two more Stingray vessels in production

with expected delivery dates in the first quarter

and third quarter of 2015. Mr Bordelon says

he plans to maintain a presence on the shelf

whilst building its DP2 vessels to support

the deepwater market in the Gulf of Mexico

and elsewhere.

“I feel a great sense of pride, as a second-

generation owner, to be a part of this great

history and look forward to many more years

of growth and success. The company began an

exciting new chapter in its evolution three years

ago, with the construction of Bordelon Marine

Shipbuilders and the design and creation of our

Stingray 260 DP2 series vessels.

“Since then, we’ve delivered and placed

under contract the first of what will eventually

be a class of six vessels. We are confident that

the Stingray 260 DP2 series will support and

foster the continued success of Bordelon Marine

well into the future.”

The Stingray series vessels are 257ft x 52ft

x 18ft vessels with a clear deck of 185ft x 44ft

(8,272 ft2) and a maximum speed of 14 knots.

They are fitted with Cummins QSK 60-M

Tier 3 main propulsion engines with Schottel

1215 Z-Drives and STT2 bow thrusters. They

are designed to transport 158,000 gallons of

fuel oil cargo, 4,000 ft3 of bulk mud, 10,400

barrels of liquid mud in three separate tanks

and 123,000 gallons of potable water cargo.

All of the cargo systems are fully automated

and controlled from the bridge. The vessels

can accommodate up to 40 people and have

an internal ROV office and control room. The

Stingray series are Solas classed, FiFi 1, ACCU,

EEP 175 and Tier 3.

The next vessel in the series, Shelia Bordelon,

is now due to be delivered in February 2015

and will be fitted out as what Bordelon Marine

describes as an “ultra-light intervention

vessel” and will have a 50-tonne active heave

compensated (AHC) crane from National

Oilwell Varco, a mezzanine launch and recovery

system (LARS) deck designed to support two

work-class ROVs, 6,000 ft2 of clear deck and

accommodation for 56.

The third vessel in the series, Brandon

Bordelon, also to be configured as an ultra-light

intervention vessel, will have a 60-tonne AHC

SMST crane, LARS deck and the same deck

area and accommodation as Shelia Bordelon.

“We plan to continue building organically,

approximately one vessel per year,” said

Mr Bordelon. “We are currently in the planning

stages for the vessels that will be delivered in

2016 and 2017.” OSJ

Family firm likes to build its own vessels

Wes Bordelon: “we plan to continue building vessels organically”

Bordelon Marine is not one of the largest or best known offshore vessel companies in the US – or as well known outside the US as some – but it has a long track record, and its owner is steadily establishing it in new markets

Bordelon Marine’s deepwater vessels are tailored to work in niches such as well stimulation and light intervention


34

2 014 was another standout year from

Sinopacific Shipbuilding Group, which

is led by company founder, chairman

and CEO Simon Liang. The company won its

first order from a Mexican customer, delivered

its 200th vessel, won an order to build a rock

installation vessel for Van Oord, secured an order

to build four examples of an in-house design

for Singaporean client Vallianz Holdings and

secured its first order for offshore vessels for a

Chinese client – and that just covers the period

from August to mid-October 2014.

The Mexican order came from Naviera

Petrolera Integral SA de CV, who ordered

three Sinopacific-designed SPP17A vessels,

all of which will be built at Sinopacific’s

Zhejiang Shipyard and delivered by the end

of 2015, after which they will work for

Pemex, Mexico’s largest government-owned

oil company, on oil and gas development

projects in the Gulf of Mexico.

The deal with the Mexican client came

hard on the heels of another with Vallianz

Holdings and sees Sinopacific building more

examples of vessels that it has itself designed,

in this case, the SP brand of platform supply

vessel (PSV).

Since its foundation, Sinopacific has

attached great importance to developing its

own offshore vessel designs. It started out by

building larger numbers of European designs

and series production of designs from industry

leaders such as Guido Perla & Associates, but

what it really wanted to do was build its own

designs, which it is now doing in increasingly

large numbers.

The SPP17A for Naviera Petrolera Integral

is a small PSV design with an overall length

of 61.8m, moulded breadth of 14.0m, moulded

depth of 5.8m, deadweight of 1,700 tonnes,

design draught of 4.3m and accommodation

for 24 people. It employs fuel-efficient diesel-

electric propulsion and will provide excellent

performance in terms of ease of operation,

comfort and deadweight.

Vallianz Holdings has ordered four SPA60

vessels that will also be built at Sinopacific’s

Zhejiang yard. They are due to be delivered

from the end of 2014 through the beginning

of 2015. The deal is another noteworthy

one because it is the first that the Chinese

company has secured from the Southeast

Asian market from its SP design portfolio.

Sinopacific is one of a very few Chinese yards

that have independent design capability from

conceptual design through to production,

and its ability to provide design and on-site

technical support for Vallianz undoubtedly

played a part in securing the order. The

SPA60 is an anchor-handling tug/supply

(AHTS) vessel with a 60-tonne bollard pull.

It is 64m in length overall, has a breadth of

16.00m and 5.00m draught. It has a service

speed of 13 knots and can accommodate 28

people. Fully functional and balanced, the

vessel is designed to be highly practical and

robust in operation.

In July, the shipbuilder signed a contract

with Huawei Offshore, a subsidiary of Shanghai

Salvage Company, for the construction of

five offshore vessels. All of the vessels are

designs from the SP brand: three are of the

SPA85L AHTS design and two of the SPP35ML

PSV design. The vessels will also be built at

Zhejiang Shipyard.

Sinopacific’s landmark 200th vessel was

delivered by its Dayang shipyard and is a

Guido Perla & Associates-designed GPA 696

inspection, maintenance and repair vessel

for Bourbon. Dayang is also to build the

fallpipe/rock-dumping vessel that Van Oord

recently ordered.

October saw another milestone, with the

final vessel in a 12-ship series of PX105 PSVs it

has built. Zhejiang delivered the vessel, Sea Swift,

to Deep Sea Supply.

Since he decided to enter the shipbuilding

business, Simon Liang has become a giant in

the Chinese shipbuilding industry and one of the

best known figures in the industry as a whole.

Highly educated, he studied international trade

and received his graduate degree in France, and

his first fortune was made producing not ships

but Christmas decorations. Nowadays, he is on

the Forbes list of the wealthiest people in China

but is said to keep a low profile outside the

shipbuilding industry.

On becoming involved in shipbuilding,

Mr Liang decided to follow a very specific

strategy: Sinopacific would not go head to

head with other Chinese yards and compete

on price, as many Chinese yards do, but

instead would be a “technically driven”

company and focus on a specific part of the

shipbuilding industry – offshore vessels. It

would aim to build more advanced examples

of the type and, eventually, build vessels it

had also designed itself. The strategy has

certainly been effective, and Sinopacific now

lays claim to being the world’s largest builder

of offshore support vessels. OSJ

Sinopacific Shipbuilding Group started out building designs developed in northwest Europe and the US, but its desire to build more vessels from its own SP portfolio is coming to fruition

Founder sees yards transition to in-house designs

Simon Liang’s shipbuilding group is building more and more offshore vessels of its own design

Simon Liang

www.havilashipping.no

TO BE IS TO DO

IN HAVILA WE DO –

IN ALL KINDS OF WEATHER


T he Olympic group of companies owns

and operates offshore and fishing

vessels and is based in Fosnavåg on

the west coast of Norway. Olympic Shipping

was founded in 1996 by Stig Remøy and

Bjørn Kvalsund. Mr Remøy remains the main

shareholder in the company with more than 80

per cent of the shares.

The company began operations with two

offshore vessels, Olympic Commander and

Olympic Supplier, and the deepsea trawler

Olympic Prawn. The group remains privately

owned with Mr Remøy as its main shareholder.

The administrative staff at the company

are employed by Olympic Shipping and the

sea-going personnel by Olympic Crewing, a

subsidiary of Olympic Shipping.

The company now has approximately 800

employees and owns and operates a diversified

fleet of high end offshore vessels including

platform supply vessels (PSVs), multipurpose

PSVs, anchor handlers and subsea vessels

and construction vessels. The average value-

adjusted age of its fleet is around five years,

making it one of the most modern fleets in the

market, and Olympic is the sixth largest owner

of subsea vessels in the world, with a global

presence in key markets.

The company had a solid financial position

at the end of the first half of 2014 with

value-adjusted equity of NKr4.7 billion

(US$690 million) and NKr562 million

(US$83 million) in liquidity. As of the end

of May 2014, its contract backlog amounted

to around NKr4.9 billion (US$719 million)

including options.

The Olympic group has been an active

bond issuer since 2011 and is a key part of

the offshore cluster in northwestern Norway.

Mr Remøy’s strategy for fleet development is

by new technology, a focus on environmental

issues and achieving better operational

solutions. He has a policy of maintaining

a significant cash buffer in order to ensure

financial and operational flexibility, and the

company’s management team and owner

have significant experience and a strong track

record from both the offshore support vessel

industry and financial markets.

Olympic continues to invest in newbuilds

when it feels that the timing is right, and

the addition of new vessels to its fleet helped

boost the company’s profits in the first half

of 2014 (the latest period for which financial

statements were available at the time of

writing). The company’s net profit rose to

NKr192 million (US$28 million), compared

with NKr39 million (US$6 million) in the same

period in 2013. Revenue increased by 23.6 per

cent to NKr689 million (US$101 million), and

total assets rose by NKr1.6 billion (US$235

million) to NKr9 billion (US$1.3 billion).

The company put fleet utilisation for the

period at 85 per cent and said that a total

of seven newbuildings were delivered in the

period. The company noted that increased rig

activity towards the end of 2014 ought to be

good news for its anchor handlers. At the time

that the report was issued in August 2014,

the company had a fleet of 23 vessels with an

average age of five years.

In May, the company confirmed that it

had completed a senior unsecured bond issue

of NKr500 million (US$73 million) with a

borrowing limit of NKr750 million (US$110

million) and maturity date in June 2019. In

April 2014, it took delivery of Olympic Boa – a

multifunction subsea support and construction

vessel designed for low fuel consumption and

excellent sea keeping and station keeping.

This is in addition to low noise and vibration

in hull and superstructure, which ensures

high comfort and safety for the crew. The

vessel is designed according to class and the

requirements of the authorities, with a focus

on reduced fuel consumption, which also

means reduced emissions to the environment.

In addition to construction work, the vessel is

also arranged for a pair of work-class remotely

operated vehicles (ROVs) with launch and

recovery systems in the hangar and the option

of an observation-class ROV on the shelter

deck. The vessel can also perform normal

field support duties and is arranged with a

construction moonpool.

Due to be delivered to the company in 2015

are an MT 6021 MkII multifunction subsea

support and construction vessel designed

to meet the needs of the offshore market,

with diesel-electric, frequency-controlled

propulsion, highly efficient azimuth thrusters

and dynamic positioning, and another very

similar vessel. The first of the MT 6021 design,

which is currently due to be delivered in March

2015, will be chartered to Bibby Offshore for

three years with options for an additional three

years. OSJ

Profits at Stig Remøy’s Olympic Shipping rose again in the first half of 2014, buoyed by the addition of new vessels. More are due to enter service in 2015 and enhance Mr Remøy’s subsea vessel offering

Remøy continues to build position in the subsea market

Stig Remøy35

Stig Remøy has invested cautiously, but steadily, in new subsea vessels – a strategy that continues to pay off


36

A s readers will remember from the OSJ

Industry Leaders 2013 supplement, it is

only recently that Mr Heijermans took

DeepOcean into the subsea umbilicals, risers and

flowlines (Surf) market, when it entered into a

five-and-a-half-year charter agreement starting

in March 2016 for a newbuild installation vessel

that will enhance DeepOcean’s current service

offerings in the Surf segment in the Greater

North Sea area. As the company noted, the

expansion into the Surf segment as a lead

contractor is something that it did “with great

confidence”, noting that the dedicated Surf vessel

will provide the company with the opportunity

to serve customers as a lead contractor and offer

commercial benefits resulting from the bundling

of its services.

Now, the geotechnical market beckons,

following the acquisition of a geotechnical

drilling rig and a strategic alliance with

Geoquip Marine for the provision of

geotechnical services in the Greater North Sea

area and collaboration worldwide.

Speaking at the time that the deal was

announced, Bart Heijermans, the company’s

CEO, said he believed that the geotechnical

services market was undersupplied and that

DeepOcean, through its strategic alliance

with Geoquip and its relationships with key

customers worldwide, was well positioned to

become a preferred geotechnical service provider

and a viable alternative to the current segment

leader in the Greater North Sea.

Mr Heijermans noted that the company

has several vessels it owns and others it has

chartered that can deploy a geotechnical

drilling rig. “We are targeting a number of

opportunities in the offshore renewables and oil

and gas sectors to get this important initiative

started,” he explained. For its part, Geoquip

Marine described DeepOcean as “an ideal

partner”. The new rig is a heave compensated,

offshore geotechnical deepwater drilling rig

built and commissioned in 2011. It is capable

of operating in water depths over 600m and

drilling with a combined water and borehole

depth of 850m.

In a particularly busy start to 2014,

March saw DeepOcean UK, a subsidiary of

DeepOcean Group Holding BV, announce

that the company has entered into a seven-

year charter agreement with Maersk Supply

Service for a newbuild cablelay vessel. The

vessel is the DOC 8500, a Damen Offshore

Carrier that has been designed specifically

to suit DeepOcean’s requirements. The DOC

8500 will extend DeepOcean’s capabilities

in the larger cablelaying end of the market,

representing a new focus on interconnector

projects, in addition to oil and gas sector

and renewables work. The specially equipped

vessel will be delivered from the Damen

Galati yard in Romania. Owned and operated

by Maersk Supply Service, the vessel will

become the latest addition to the 60-plus

strong Maersk offshore support vessel

fleet. It was designed to meet the high

standards demanded by North Sea oil and gas

customers and has a bow form and slender

hull optimised for seakeeping in rough seas

and to suppress slamming. The ship will

run on either MGO or HFO and has DP2

dynamic positioning capability in line with

offshore market preferences. Its high on-deck

cable-carrying capacity makes it particularly

competitive as a cablelayer, while the vessel

has also been optimised for shallow-water

operations, coming complete with a seven-

point mooring system.

Mr Heijermans leads a company that is an

integrated provider of services and technology

for the subsea industry, including survey and

seabed mapping, subsea installation, seabed

intervention, inspection, maintenance and

repair (IMR) and decommissioning. The

DeepOcean company is privately owned with

its main shareholders being US institutional

investors. In 2012, the company had revenues

of US$513 million and earnings before interest,

tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of

US$54 million.

Mr Heijermans became DeepOcean Group

Holding’s CEO in February 2012. He is well

known as a global energy executive with

more than 20 years of experience in the

development, execution and operations of

deepwater oil and gas projects. Prior to joining

DeepOcean as a member of the board in

July 2011, Mr Heijermans was executive vice

president and chief operating officer of Helix

Energy Solutions Group. He has held several

senior positions with energy companies such

as Enterprise Products Partners, El Paso

Corporation and Royal Dutch Shell plc and

holds a master’s degree in civil and structural

engineering from the University of Delft

in the Netherlands. He is also a graduate

of the Harvard Business School advanced

management programme.

Mr Heijermans says DeepOcean’s competitive

strength lies in its ability to provide a suitable

spread for solving clients’ subsea challenges.

The company has access to owned and chartered

dynamic positioning vessels that serve as

platforms for mobilising equipment to fit each

work scope. OSJ

Heijermans adds geotechnical to portfolio

Bart Heijermans has taken DeepOcean deeper into the Surf market and more recently the geotechnical market

Led by Bart Heijermans, DeepOcean continued to secure long-term contracts with a number of leading clients in 2014 and announced that it would charter a newbuild cablelay vessel and enter the offshore geotechnical market

Bart Heijermans


M r de Chateauvieux’s investment

company Jaccar Holdings now owns

55.8 per cent of the capital and 58.1

per cent of effective voting rights in Bourbon, in

concert with Mach-Invest International.

Jaccar Holdings has a longstanding

involvement with Bourbon that stretches back

over several decades. Based in Luxembourg,

the private investment company has a number

of interests, but Bourbon is comfortably its

most important, representing 45 per cent of its

portfolio, which also includes other assets, all

in the maritime sector, such as Greenship Bulk,

Greenship Gas and SAPMER Holdings.

After a period of intense investment in

newbuildings, Bourbon has been pursuing

a deleveraging strategy more recently

and is looking to reduce its debt through

a combination of the proceeds from sale-

and-charter-back transactions (in the order

of US$2.5 billion) and strong free cash flow

generation from growing operations and lower

capex and cash interest expense. Back in

2013, under its ‘Transforming for beyond’

plan, which it said was designed to prepare it

for future growth, the company announced its

intention to sell supply vessels it owned but

continue to operate them for 10 years under

bareboat chartering contracts.

Announcing its third-quarter 2014 result,

Bourbon said third-quarter revenues were up

5.7 per cent year on year thanks to fleet growth

and higher average daily rates, although

these were partially offset by lower utilisation

rates. The company said average daily rates

increased in almost all segments and regions,

owing in part to newer, larger vessels having

higher day rates and improved rates on some

contract renewals and extensions. Utilisation

was mixed across most of the regions in which

the company operates, with Asia and West

Africa being adversely affected by an increased

supply of vessels and reduced activity. The

company said that cost-reduction programmes

by oil companies had an impact on all of the

segments in which it operates.

In the short term, said the company, it

was entering a period in which the market

will be more complex, taking into account

cost reductions by clients and the decline in

the oil price. Significant deliveries of vessels

compared with the same period in 2013 helped

to increase revenues by more than 6 per

cent despite a generally softening market as

oil companies continued to be selective in

their investments. The increase in revenues

in the company’s deepwater segment during

the third quarter of 2013 was in line with

the increase in the size of the company’s

fleet. Revenues for this segment in the period

increased by almost 19 per cent, largely due to

an increase in the fleet size.

Bourbon noted that, after several years

of stability, the price of oil has dropped

significantly and had fallen to around US$80–

85 per barrel (Brent crude). In this context, it

said, oil and gas companies have been engaged

in cost-reduction efforts throughout the year,

and that trend is expected to continue in the

near term.

“This has meant more selective investment

choices and a focus on existing well

production,” said Bourbon. “However, both the

medium-term and long-term view provide a

much more positive outlook. The time horizon

for field development and production is often

over 20 years and takes places over several

business cycles. Whilst short-term factors may

influence decisions temporarily, there is still a

need for companies to maintain and increase

overall production.

“Demand for energy is still strong and with

depletion rates of existing fields continuing,

and there is still a need for further exploration

and production investment by the oil and gas

companies. In addition, the rig count is expected

to continue to increase.

Looking at this increase in rigs, the company

said, “Only a portion of the approximately 200

rigs under construction will be replacing older

rigs, which is favourable for future demand

for offshore support vessels (OSVs). A high

contractor backlog through 2016 could also

have a positive impact on demand for OSVs.

On average, we anticipate a stable demand for

offshore support vessels.

“On the supply side, the high number of large

PSVs coming out of shipyards could negatively

affect the spot market,” the company said,

noting that that this should have only a small

impact on Bourbon.

In late October 2014, the company

completed a 100 million bond issue. As of

then, Bourbon had completed the transfer

of 45 vessels to ICBCL, with whom it has an

agreement for the transfer of a total of 51

vessels. This provided total proceeds of US$1.4

billion. To date, the vessels transferred to

ICBCL include eight deepwater vessels, 31

shallow-water vessels and six subsea vessels.

A $US150 million agreement with Standard

Chartered Bank for the sale of six vessels

remains on track, and the remaining three

vessels were due to be transferred before the

end of 2014.

“Having consolidated the group’s

shareholders with the successful tender offer

launched by Jaccar Holdings in July, with this

new hybrid bond issue, we are pursuing the

optimisation of Bourbon’s capital structure and

solidifying our financial position,” said Mr de

Chateauvieux, who is also chairman of the board

at Bourbon. OSJ

Jacques de Chateauvieux, who used to be CEO at Bourbon, the well known offshore vessel operator, is back in the picture in a big way, having succeeded with a tender offer for shares in the company earlier this year

Long-time investor takes controlling share in Bourbon

Jacques de Chateauvieux37

Jacques de Chateauvieux is optimising Bourbon’s capital structure and solidifying its financial position


38John Reed

H arkand, the inspection, maintenance

and repair (IMR) company, has

operations in three distinct regions

across the globe – North America/Africa, Asia

Pacific and Europe – and specialises in IMR as

well as light construction, construction support

and survey services. Mr Reed, an industry

veteran with more than 30 years’ experience

in the offshore engineering and construction

sector, will lead the development of the company

as it drives forward with its target of growing

turnover to US$1 billion in the next five years.

He replaced Nicolas Mouté, who steered the

group’s formation since inception and through

the merger of Iremis, Integrated Subsea Services

(ISS) and Andrews Survey following investment

by Oaktree Capital Management and the

acquisition of Veolia Marine Services.

Speaking at the time that Mr Reed’s appointment

was announced, the company’s chairman, Tom

Ehret, said he was pleased to welcome Mr Reed

to Harkand and noted that he brought with

him extensive experience of developing and

delivering large-scale, capital-intensive projects and

management of major complex organisations.

Mr Reed most recently served on the Cal

Dive International board of directors from May

2012 to August 2013. Prior to that, he was

CEO of Global Industries Ltd from March 2010

until its acquisition by Technip and is a former

CEO of Heerema Marine Contractors. He holds

a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the

University of Mississippi and an MBA from

Delta State University and previously served

as a member of the board of directors of the

National Ocean Industries Association. He is

a past president of the International Pipeline

and Marine Contractors Association and past

chairman of the International Marine Contractors

Association, America’s deepwater division.

Harkand aims to become a leading name

in the subsea sector and employs 750 people

at bases in Aberdeen in the UK, Dubai in the

Middle East, Singapore and Perth in Australia. It

aims to grow turnover to US$1 billion in the next

five years. In August 2014, Harkand completed

the acquisition of Veolia Marine Services.

More recently, the company completed

placement of a new US$230 million senior secured

bond issue in the Norwegian bond market. The

bonds will have a tenor of five years, maturing

in March 2019. The net proceeds will be used to

refinance existing debt on the vessels Harkand

Atlantis and Harkand Da Vinci, to fund the pre-

delivery instalments of the newbuild dive support

vessel scheduled for delivery in the second quarter

of 2016 and to further expand the company.

Writing earlier this year, Mr Reed said Harkand

was “making clear movement towards our goal

to become the leading subsea IMR and light

construction provider in the oil and gas industry.

“In order to meet our financial goal of US$1

billion revenue in the next few years and to

continue to develop as a company, we are staying

focused on three key areas: safety, people and

growth. During the past few months, we have

grown our fleet, broadened our client base,

expanded our workforce, further developed our

HSEQ policies and procedures,” he said, noting

that the company had earlier taken delivery of Siem

Spearfish in the Gulf of Mexico, taking its vessel

fleet to nine units as of mid-2014. As he noted, the

above-mentioned share issue was substantially

oversubscribed, allowing Harkand to achieve the

lowest interest rate it had hoped for. “This is

important because it means we are recognised as

having the people, the assets and the means to

accomplish what we say we can,” he said.

Earlier this year, the company also secured a

long-term lease for a storage facility in Montrose,

Scotland, giving the company its first permanent

work base in the town to support ongoing

operations. The site is located on Rossie Island

close to the harbour in Montrose, which serves as

an important port for Harkand’s ongoing business.

Based on a 10-year lease, the facility consists of

12,000 ft2 (1,100 m2) of warehouse space, 33,000

ft2 (3,000 m2) of external storage as well as a small

area of internal offices. The facility will provide the

company with a new office and storage facility

in Montrose and the extra space it needs as the

business continues to grow in the North Sea.

Harkand will use the facility for equipment storage

as well as mobilisations and demobilisations in

Montrose. The new premises add to an existing

base it has at the Nord Centre in Aberdeen.

In the Gulf of Mexico, Harkand recently

completed the transportation and installation of

two large jumpers in the Gulf of Mexico utilising

HOS Mystique, a vessel it has chartered in. The

company provided the vessel for light subsea

construction in 610m of water approximately 160

miles (260 kilometres) southwest of New Orleans.

The contract delivery was supported by Harkand’s

onshore team of project managers and engineering

services based in the Houston office and highlighted

the company’s ability to engineer cost-effective

solutions for clients. The jumpers were originally

designed to be installed with a larger vessel and

were installed using HOS Mystique without any

incident, on schedule and within budget.

Another recent deal saw Harkand awarded a

contract to support Apache with IMR and light

construction across their assets in the North Sea,

following completion of a competitive tender

exercise. The award includes the provision of

vessels, remotely operated vehicle (ROV) and

diving services for a three-year period plus two

one-year options. Also recently won by the

company was a contract from Nexen Petroleum

UK Ltd for its 2014 ROV survey inspection

services work along with a longer-term frame

agreement. The inspection scope covered the

Buzzard, Scott, Telford, Ettrick and Rochelle

assets in the central North Sea. It saw the

deployment of Surf Ranger, which joined the

Harkand fleet in May 2014. OSJ

Towards the end of 2013, Harkand appointed John Reed as chief executive officer as it embarked on the next stage of its ambitious growth strategy

Veteran drives revenues towards US$1 billion mark

John Reed is driving IMR and light construction specialist Harkand’s revenues towards a long-term goal of US$1 billion


39 Irene Waage Basili

O ne of only a few women to lead

an offshore vessel-owning company,

Irene Waage Basili, GC Rieber

Shipping’s CEO, has more than 20 years of

experience in the shipping sector in segments

of the market as diverse as dry bulk, tankers,

roro vessels and, of course, oil field service-

related shipping, both in the US and Norway.

During her career, she has held senior

positions in companies including Petroleum

Geo Services (PGS), Arrow Seismic and Wilh

Wilhelmsen and is also a board member of

Odfjell and Kongsberg Gruppen. Ms Basili

also served on Norway’s committee to assess

the impact of increased maritime activity in

the High North.

Ms Basili was appointed CEO of GC Rieber

Shipping in March 2011 having worked for three

years at PGS following its acquisition of Arrow

Seismic, where Ms Basili was CEO. She gained a

degree in business administration from Boston

University School of Management, specialising

in international management.

2013 saw Ms Basili awarded a WISTA

LeaderShip Award by WISTA Norway

in recognition of her achievements in the

Norwegian maritime industry. Speaking at the

time that the award was made, the president

of WISTA described her as “professional, open

and dedicated” with what she described as

“competence that the Norwegian shipping

industry can benefit from”. At the time that

the award was made, Ms Basili led a company

where 40 per cent of the management team

were women.

GC Rieber Shipping has a fleet of 11 vessels

in the subsea, marine seismic and ice/support

segments. The company also operates another

two vessels. Its contract portfolio mainly

consists of medium-term contracts, which can

be expected to contribute to stable earnings

going forward.

The company maintained what Ms

Basili described as “stable, good operations”

throughout the third quarter. In fact, the

quarter saw the second-highest EBITDA in the

company’s history. Total fleet utilisation was 99

per cent, compared to 96 per cent in the same

period in 2013.

The group’s operating revenue for the third

quarter of 2014 was NKr240.7 million (US$35.2

million), compared to NKr215.0 million

(US$31.5 million) in the third quarter of 2013.

The increase was primarily due to the fact that,

compared with 2013, the company had one

vessel more in operation, the newbuild Polar

Onyx, which started operations at the end of

the first quarter of 2014. EBITDA was NKr124.8

million (US$18.3 million), corresponding to an

EBITDA margin of 52 per cent. EBITDA for the

third quarter of 2013 was NKr126.5 million

(US$18.5 million), corresponding to an EBITDA

margin of 59 per cent.

GC Rieber Shipping had a profit of NKr47.0

million (US$6.9 million) for the third quarter,

compared to NKr439.0 million (US$64.3 million)

in the same period in 2013. (The especially solid

result in the third quarter of 2013 was due to

an accounting gain related to the sale of HMS

Protector in September 2013.)

“We are very pleased to again present

a solid quarterly result and see this as a

confirmation that we are well positioned in

the market. A solid financial platform and

operational robustness in the operation of

our vessels allows us to deliver solid results,”

said Ms Basili. “We are optimistic about the

future. In a more challenging market, modern

vessels delivering services at competitive

terms and solid operations will be decisive

for us and our customers.”

At the end of September 2014, GC Rieber

Shipping had a contract backlog of NKr3.2

billion (US$468.5 million), with an average

contract duration of 2.4 years. Contract

coverage for the fourth quarter of 2014, 2015

and 2016 is 100 per cent, 67 per cent and 57

per cent respectively.

During the third quarter of 2014, GC

Rieber secured a three-year charter contract

with Boa Marine Services for the subsea

vessel Polar Queen and a one-year extension

of a charter contract for RRS Ernest Shackleton

until August 2016. The agreement with Boa

Marine Services was an extension of an

existing contract and will take effect as at

April 2015. The agreement includes an option

on the part of the charterer for a three-year

extension. The first quarter of 2015 will see

the company take delivery of a seismic vessel

newbuilding from Kleven Verft. On delivery,

the vessel will embark on a five-year contract

with Dolphin Geophysical.

Ms Basili said she takes a positive long-

term view of the markets in which the

company operates, based on expectations of

long-term growth in global energy demand.

In the short term, she said the offshore

market is characterised by “uncertainty and

cutbacks” in investment due to an increased

focus on cost and the recent fall in the oil

price. “The effect of this is becoming apparent

in terms of reduced levels of activity in the

seismic industry, with a relatively turbulent

autumn where major seismic companies

have reported weaker accounting figures and

reduced contract backlogs,” she explained.

“The uncertain market outlook is expected to

continue into 2015,” she concluded, noting

that the company has full contract backlog

for the seismic fleet up until the second

quarter of 2016 and that GC Rieber’s subsea

vessels – of which three are in the inspection,

maintenance and repair segment – is less

exposed to reduced investment compared

with that part of the subsea industry that

focuses on new projects. OSJ

GC Rieber CEO maintains a long-term perspective

Irene Waage Basili: “seismic market has been turbulent but longer-term outlook for GC Rieber remains good”

Focusing on the long-term and maintaining a mix of seismic, subsea and ice-class assets has helped GC Rieber Shipping’s CEO maintain profitability

www.osjonline.com

40René Kofod-Olsen

In August 2014, Topaz Energy and Marine

concluded a US$75 million equity investment

in the business from Standard Chartered Private

Equity (SCPE). Under the terms of the investment,

SCPE will inject US$75 million of equity in return for

a 9.8 per cent stake in the business. The funds will

be deployed in support of Topaz’s long-term fleet

expansion ambition in its core operational regions

and strategic entry to key growth opportunities.

“Joining forces with a private equity powerhouse

like SCPE will enable Topaz to truly accelerate the

realisation of our strategic plan,” said René Kofod-

Olsen, CEO of Topaz. “We have now enhanced the

foundation from which we can deliver our ambition

for further geographical diversification and growth

through both organic expansion and acquisitions.

“SCPE is investing because of its firm belief

in the Topaz story, the team and our strategy, and

we look forward to working together in close

partnership,” he said, noting that the transaction

is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Mr Kofod-Olsen has been the chief executive

officer of the company since 2012. He has 18 years

of experience in the marine industry with the

AP Moller-Maersk Group and previously served

as CEO of Svitzer Asia, Middle East & Africa. Mr

Kofod-Olsen has significant leadership experience

in several multicultural organisations and

countries and pursued an advanced management

programme at Harvard Business School. Bringing

in institutional funds is a key part of his strategy.

The company recently reported results for the

first six months of 2014, showing core utilisation

of 89.8 per cent and earnings of just over US$91

million on revenues of US$185 million. Revenues

were flat compared to the same period last year,

primarily because some vessels in the Caspian

and global regions were between charters or in

drydock, resulting in lower utilisation.

“In order for us to deliver full-year results as

strong as in 2013, improvements are required.

Keeping all of our vessels utilised must be

our focus, and everyone must be vigilant to

unnecessary cost creeping into our operations,”

said the company. Four vessels were added in the

first half of 2014 – the platform supply vessels

(PSVs) Topaz Seema, Topaz Xara, Topaz Faye and

Caspian Voyager.

The first six months of 2014 saw broadly stable

performance for the company with significant

expansion in its operations in West Africa.

Reviewing the company’s operations, Mr Kofod-

Olsen said that, in the Caspian region, negotiations

continue in Azerbaijan with the client for their

vessel requirements for the Shah Deniz 2 project,

one of the world’s biggest natural gas fields, which

is expected to kick off in late 2014. “Shah Deniz 2

is a strategic and long-term project for Azerbaijan

and our client, in support of which we aim to

achieve deployment of our vessels on a long-term

sustainable basis,” he said.

“Demand for our OSV services is increasing

from the Russian Filanovsky development where

we now have 15 assets deployed,” he explained.

“Two anchor-handling tug/supply vessels have

commenced work under a medium-term contract

in Turkmenistan, and we will be pursuing further

asset deployments in the country throughout 2014.

“The MENA business has delivered a solid

performance both in Qatar and in Saudi Arabia. A

number of the vessels are now contracted for most

of the year. We have seen increased demand for our

vessels in the UAE with charter commencement

from the third quarter of 2014.

“Our global business has made significant

inroads into West Africa with 11 vessels now

operating there. The new PSVs added to the fleet

in 2014 are in high demand, and we expect to see

them work through the year with little commercial

downtime. The local office in Nigeria is now fully

staffed and functional, providing operational

support to our assets and clients.”

Mr Kofod-Olsen said progress has been made on

identifying potential strategic partnerships in target

markets. “West Africa is a key growth market for

Topaz, and we expect to build on our rapid growth

in the region to fully consolidate our position in

several of the West African markets during the

second half of the year,” he said.

Topaz is also pushing ahead with the addition

of new strategic assets in line with its commercial

strategy. During the second quarter, the company

committed to acquiring three new DP2 PSVs, which

are expected to positively contribute to earnings

from the beginning of 2015 or earlier.

“The investments we have made in the business

over the course of 2013 and during 2014 in terms

of vessels, technology and, most importantly, our

people allow us to remain confident of achieving

our performance targets for the full year,” Mr

Kofod-Olsen concluded. OSJ

Topaz Energy and Marine plans to use funds secured from a private equity company to continue to invest and is expanding into markets such as West Africa

Private equity gives Kofod-Olsen scope for expansion

René Kofod-Olsen: “SCPE is investing because of its firm belief in the Topaz story”

Mr Kofod-Olsen is focusing on keeping vessels fully utilised and on controlling costs

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3245_SL_Campaign 3 Ads 2014_V03_RP.indd 1 20-02-14 11:2058 I Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014 www.osjonline.com


2 014 has, as always, been a busy one

for Technip, with numerous subsea

campaigns undertaken, work commencing

on high profile projects such as the Åsgard subsea

compression project in Norway, the pipelay

support vessel Coral do Atlantico starting operations

in Brazil and the company’s Açu manufacturing

plant in Brazil progressively ramping up to

full-scale production. With revenues of €4.6–

4.9 billion from subsea work and an operating

margin of at least 12 per cent, Technip has a solid

backlog and continues to improve cash flow and

returns in the subsea sector.

With a workforce of 22,000 people, Technip

ranks among the top five corporations in

offshore oil and gas, petrochemical engineering,

and construction and services. Based in Paris,

the group is listed in New York and Paris and has

operations and engineering centres in France,

Italy, Germany, the UK, Norway, Finland, The

Netherlands, the US, Brazil, Abu-Dhabi, China,

India, Malaysia and Australia. In support of

its activities, the group also manufactures

flexible pipes and umbilicals and builds offshore

platforms. It has a fleet of specialised vessels for

pipeline installation and subsea construction,

to which new units have recently been added,

and has particularly broad execution capabilities

in the subsea sector, including ultra-deepwater

infield lines, deepwater infield lines and a

deepwater-to-shore capability.

Thierry Pilenko has been the chairman of

the board and CEO at Technip since April 2007,

having been executive vice president and deputy

general manager before that. He served as the

chairman of the board and CEO at Veritas DGC

from March 2004 to January 2007, and from

2001 to March 2004, he served as managing

director of SchlumbergerSema, a Schlumberger

company. Prior to that, Mr Pilenko was president

of Geoquest, another Schlumberger company.

He holds degrees from France’s Nancy School of

Geology (1981) and the IFP School (1982) and

is a graduate of the École Nationale Supérieure

de Géologie as well as the École du Pétrole et

des Moteurs.

2014 has also seen the company secure

numerous subsea contracts and continue to

optimise its subsea assets. Among the most recent

contracts is one that will see Technip provide

support to EnQuest from project concept to

execution and manage a design, fabrication and

installation contract on the Kraken development

in the North Sea. The deal will also see Technip

utilise its spoolbase, steel tube umbilical plant

and a number of vessels.

Under the terms of the deal, Technip has

been awarded an engineering, procurement,

installation and construction (EPIC) contract for

the Kraken development, which is approximately

400km northeast of Aberdeen and 130km east of

Shetland in a water depth of approximately 120m.

The contract covers various project management

engineering and installation works, which include:

fabrication and pipelay of approximately 50km

of rigid pipe, including 25km of metal clad pipe

and 25km that will be HDPE lined; installation

of umbilicals; installation of 7km of flexible risers

and jumpers; template and manifold installation

at three drill centres; diver-less tie-ins to pipelines

and manifolds; and pipeline flooding, hydro

testing and leak testing. Technip’s operating

centre in Aberdeen will execute the contract, and

the group’s spoolbase in Evanton, UK, will weld

and load out the rigid pipe. Technip Umbilicals,

Technip’s wholly owned subsidiary in Newcastle

in the UK, will manufacture the umbilicals. All

construction work on the project will be undertaken

via diverless construction methods, and a number

of vessels from the Technip fleet will be utilised for

the offshore campaign, including Deep Energy.

Technip also recently secured a substantial

subsea contract for the Bangka development

in Indonesia. The contract was awarded by

Chevron Indonesia and will take place in the

Rapak PSC area, approximately 70km offshore

the province of East Kalimantan, Indonesia.

The contract covers engineering, procurement,

construction, installation, commissioning and pre-

commissioning of flexibles, umbilicals and subsea

structures. Yet another recent deal saw Total E&P

UK award Technip a contract for the Edradour

subsea development, which is approximately

75km northwest of the Shetland Islands in

approximately 300m of water. Here, Technip’s

scope of work covers fabrication and installation

of 12in (300mm) production pipelines and a

6in (150mm) MEG pipeline complete with 2in

(50mm) piggy-backed service line; supply and

installation of steel tube umbilicals; fabrication

and installation of pipeline end manifold, flowline

end termination, flexible tails and rigid well tie-

in spools as well as the installation of templates

and manifolds provided by the client; and rock

dumping and pre-commissioning.

In July 2014, the latest subsea construction

vessel to join Technip’s fleet, North Sea Atlantic,

was taken on a long-term charter from North

Sea Shipping. Designed to Technip’s specifications,

the multipurpose vessel is capable of undertaking

pipelay, subsea construction and inspection,

maintenance and repair projects.

Earlier this year, Technip agreed to divest all of

its North American diving assets to Ranger Offshore

in order to focus on high technology and ultra-

deepwater products and services. Proceeds from

the sale will be partially reinvested directly into

Technip’s subsea business, specifically focusing on

improvements to the rigid pipe fabrication facility

in Mobile, Alabama, in the US.

As part of the transaction, Technip and

Ranger Offshore have entered into a multiyear

diving services agreement covering Technip’s

North America region. The agreement will see

Ranger Offshore take control of vessels Global

Orion and Normand Commander. Global Orion is

fully owned, while Normand Commander is on

a long-term charter, which will be assumed

by Ranger from Technip USA. Closure of the

sale was due to take place during the fourth

quarter. OSJ

The subsea sector continues to be a key one for Paris-based Technip, which expects cash flow and returns from the sector to continue to grow in 2015

41Thierry Pilenko

Pilenko sees subsea revenues continue to improve

Led by Thierry Pilenko, Technip has continued to improve cash flow and returns from the subsea sector

Å ge Remøy is the founder and majority

owner of Rem Offshore and the

company’s chief executive. He has about

30 years’ experience in the offshore sector. Since

1983, he has managed the companies in the

Rem Group. He was educated as an engineer at

Ålesund University College.

Speaking to OSJ earlier this year, Mr Remøy

said he rated anchor handlers as the next

potential opportunity for the company, which

has taken delivery of a steady stream of high

spec vessels in the last few years. Although light

construction vessels have been the primary focus

of its attention for some time, opportunities to

invest in anchor handlers could be opening up,

said the company’s owner.

True to his word, 2014 saw Rem Offshore

recently place a contract with Vard Brattvaag

in Norway for design and construction of a

high spec construction/anchor-handling vessel,

a deal that was valued at NKr800 million

(US$117.6 million). The vessel will be of

VARD 2 06 design, developed by Vard Design

in Ålesund. Delivery is scheduled from Vard

Brattvaag in Norway in the first quarter of

2016. The hull of the vessel will be delivered

from Vard Tulcea in Romania.

The new vessel is designed to perform

operations with the use of an A-frame and

winch system in parallel with an active heave

compensated offshore crane capable of working

at a depth of more than 3,000m. The crane will

have a capacity of 150 tonnes. With a bollard

pull of approximately 400 tonnes, the vessel

will be able to undertake demanding operations

in the deepwater segment. The construction/

anchor-handling tug/supply (AHTS) vessel

will have accommodation for 90 plus several

offices and workstations for managing complex

projects. With ICE-1B and the winterisation

notation, the vessel is arranged for operations in

northern waters and will be fitted with a launch

and recovery system for ROVs.

Mr Remøy evidently also sees opportunities

for other types of ice-class vessels and placed

a contract early in 2014 with another well

known Norwegian yard, Kleven, for a platform

supply vessel (PSV) designed to operate in Arctic

conditions. The VS485 Mk III Arctic design

includes a number of features for ice prevention

and de-icing. The hull and propulsion systems

will have ICE-1B class.

Mr Remøy has a longstanding relationship

with Kleven. In fact, when the PSV is delivered

in the second quarter of 2015, it will be the

18th ship that Kleven has delivered to the

company since 2006. The vessel is a Wärtsila

Ship Design design.

As highlighted above, Åge Remøy has

invested heavily in light construction vessels

in the last two to three years. Speaking

exclusively to OSJ earlier this year, Mr Remøy

said that, as long as the oil price remained

high, he was optimistic about the offshore

support vessel sector.

Things have changed in the last three to four

months of course – and the oil price has plunged

– but in the high spec AHTS market, Mr Remøy

has undoubtedly identified a market where,

since a bout of overordering in the run-up to the

global financial crisis, there has been relatively

little activity.

“I can foresee a situation in which there

might be undersupply of larger anchor

handlers with remotely operated vehicles,”

Mr Remøy told OSJ, a situation that

remains true today, despite the fall in

the oil prices.

Another high spec delivery for

Rem Offshore, the MT 6022

Rem Ocean, was chartered

by DeepOcean, which

has a long-term

contract with Statoil

for inspection,

maintenance and

repair (IMR) work.

The vessel, which is

also winterised, was

delivered early in 2014

and was due to work in the

North Sea and in the Barents.

The second vessel of this type, Rem

Pioneer, was delivered in mid-2014 and also

secured a charter. This unit is also an MT

6022, but the design has been lengthened

to 117m, which will provide potential charterers

with more deck space. Mr Remøy noted that

additional deck space is one of the features that

potential clients are asking for in vessels of this

type, as well as larger, more capable cranes.

The vessel about to go to work with Statoil has

a 150-tonne crane, whereas Rem Pioneer has a

250-tonne crane fitted. More accommodation on

board is the other obvious requirement.

Another area to have attracted the

attention of Mr Remøy and his colleagues is

the fast-growing ‘walk-to-work’ market for

vessels with offshore access systems. Rem

Offshore probably has as much experience

with these personnel transfer systems as

anybody in the market. OSJ

Unlike some owners, Rem Offshore prefers to hone in carefully on segments of the market where opportunities can be expected to arise for high spec units, most of which it builds locally, in Norwegian yards

Ice-class and high spec units pay dividends for Remøy

Åge Remøy42

Åge Remøy’s focus on light construction, ice-class and more

recently AHTS vessels has paid dividends60 I Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014

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S verre (Andy) Farstad, Farstad Shipping’s

chairman, has been a board member

since 1988. He earned a degree from

Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh in the UK

and is also chairman of the board of Tyrholm &

Farstad and holds various board appointments

and other positions in banking, insurance and at

the Norwegian Shipowners Association.

Although the day-to-day running of Farstad

is in the hands of CEO Karl-Johan Bakken,

Mr Farstad has an office in the same building

as the company’s head office in Ålesund and

regularly drops in to Mr Bakken’s office to be

updated about the business, and he remains

very much a part of the decision-making

process there. The Farstad family controls

approximately 48 per cent of Farstad Shipping

via a number of different companies and

private shareholdings, with the rest of the

shares listed on the Oslo stock exchange.

Mr Farstad’s company is a leader in the

offshore support vessel market and focuses

primarily on more advanced types of offshore

vessels. The company describes itself as “a

value driven company with a focus on safety,

quality and efficiency”. At the time of writing,

Farstad had more than 60 vessels, including

27 platform supply vessels (PSVs), 32 anchor-

handling tug/supply (AHTS) vessels and a

trio of subsea vessels. It also had two subsea

newbuilds under construction for delivery in

March and July 2015 having recently decided

to invest further in this particularly sector

of the market. The company’s operations are

managed from Ålesund, Aberdeen, Melbourne,

Perth, Singapore, Macaé and Rio de Janeiro

with approximately 2,250 employees engaged

on shore and off shore. Around 18 vessels are

stationed in Brazil, 15 vessels in northwest

Europe, 27 vessels in the Indian Pacific region

and two vessels in Africa.

Farstad Shipping achieved an operating

income of NKr1,050.6 million (US$154.6

million) for the second quarter of 2014, the

latest quarter for which results had been

published at the time of writing. Operating

profit (EBIT) was NKr178.6 million (US$26.3

million). Profit after taxes was NKr46.7 million

(US$6.9 million). The increase in operating

income and operating costs were mainly due

to an increased number of vessels in the fleet

compared to the same period in 2013.

Far Sigma (a UT731 CD AHTS vessel) was

delivered from Vard Langsten shipyard in

February. Another vessel of the same type, Far

Sirius, was delivered by the same yard in early

April. The anchor handlers were followed into

service in July by Far Sun (a PSV of VARD 1

07 design) from Vard Langsten and Far Sygna

(another VARD 1 07), which was delivered

from Vard Vung Tau, Vietnam, in August.

The company secured a number of new

charter commitments during the first half of

the year. Statoil declared an option to extend the

contract for PSV Far Serenade by one year from

April. Saipem declared their option to extend

the contract for construction support vessel Far

Samson for one year, and the vessel now has

secured employment to the end of April 2015.

Peterson Den Helder declared an option to extend

a contract for the PSV Far Splendour by a year from

the beginning of May. ConocoPhillips extended

a contract for the PSV Lady Melinda for another

two years, and the vessel now has secured

employment until December 2015. Woodside

awarded the PSV Far Starling an 18-month firm

contract with a further three six-month options.

Woodside also declared their option to extend

the contract for PSV Lady Grace by 12 months

from May. Chevron Australia exercised an option

to extend the contracts for the AHTS vessels Far

Saracen and Far Shogun for a period of 38 months.

Both vessels are secured until May 2017. Inpex

awarded the AHTS vessels Far Sword and Far

Stream 40-month firm contracts, which were

due to commence in November 2014. Inpex can

extend both contracts by up to 24 months. Inpex

also awarded the PSV Far Seeker an 18-month firm

contract with further options of up to 24 months.

Woodside Energy awarded the AHTS vessel Far

Sirius a 16-month contract with further options of

up to 18 months. This contract got underway in

October 2014. Esso Australia awarded the PSV Far

Supplier a two-year contract with further options

of up to three years. Esso also awarded the PSV

Far Scandia a 10-month contract with further

options of up to six months. Both contracts

were in direct continuation of existing contracts.

Statoil awarded the PSV Far Scotsman a contract

to support the company’s drilling operations off

Tanzania. The contract was in direct continuation

of the existing contract with duration of eight

months, with further six six-month options.

Karoon Petroleo & Gas Ltda awarded the AHTS

vessel Far Senator a five-month contract with

a further four 30-day options. The vessel is

supporting the company’s drilling programme in

Brazil. Commencement of the contract was in the

middle of July. Petrobras extended the contract

for AHTS vessel Far Santana by another four years

from July.

All of the above meant that, as of the issuing

of the report, Farstad’s contract coverage was

approximately 79 per cent for the remaining

part of 2014 and approximately 59 per cent for

2015 (including options).

At the time that the report was issued,

before the recent steep fall in the oil price,

the company noted that development in the

activity level offshore was being adversely

affected by a strong focus on costs and the

overall upward cost trend in the industry.

In addition, said the company, the market

was characterised by “too much tonnage

as a consequence of newbuild contracting

activity,” and the orderbook indicated that an

improvement in the market balance should not

be expected any time soon.” OSJ

Farstad Shipping’s chairman has regularly warned about overcapacity in the market. The decline in the oil price will make matters worse, but his company already has the cushion of a decent order backlog

Solid order backlog will see Farstad through downturn

Sverre Farstad43

62 I Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014

Sverre Farstad’s company has had a decent year, with new contracts awarded and options exercised for its vessels


44Patrick Janssens

T hat Shipyard De Hoop in the

Netherlands currently has a larger

orderbook (in terms of the number

of vessels on order) than any other

European yard is testament to the strategy

adopted and implemented so successfully

by Patrick Janssens, the company’s chief

executive officer.

In a sector increasingly dominated by

low cost construction at Chinese yards,

European yards have tended to focus on

larger, more sophisticated offshore vessels

for harsher environments, such as the North

Sea. Doing so has secured good business for

well known players such as Ulstein, Vard

and Hayvard – all Norwegian – who also

sell their designs to non-European yards to

boost revenue streams.

However, as highlighted in OSJ’s newly

published Guide to OSV Shipbuilders, it is small

and medium-size platform supply vessels

(PSVs) and smaller, less highly specified

designs that have secured top spot for Dutch

yard De Hoop in the table of European

offshore support vessel (OSV) builders.

As highlighted in the Guide to OSV

Shipbuilders, De Hoop develops most of the

offshore vessel designs it builds in house

and focuses on vessels intended for relatively

benign conditions. It has longstanding

relationships with clients in Mexico and in

the Middle East, such as ADNOC, from whom

it recently won a 10-ship order.

Among recent deliveries by the De Hoop

group (which operates two yards in the

Netherlands) is Deep Helder, a specialised

subsea vessel built for Seamar Subsea and

chartered to DeepOcean on a long-term

contract. Seamar first announced the order

in late March 2013, and construction of the

vessel was completed in a remarkably quick

time. Steel cutting did not begin until mid-

September 2013, with the keel laying taking

place two months later. At the end of April

this year, Deep Helder was launched from

Shipyard De Hoop in Foxhol. Sea trials took

place in June, and the vessel is now at work,

demonstrating the yard’s ability to bring a

design to fruition quickly.

An even more recent delivery by De Hoop

is Karina, the first example of a new class

of seven fast supply intervention vessels

(FSIVs). The vessels were ordered in late

2012, and the first two in the series were

launched in March 2014. Karina undertook

sea trials in July 2014 and is now in service.

The FSIVs have a conventional displacement

hull – albeit a very slender one with very fine

entry angle – and a stern shape designed

not only for maximum speed but for good

seakeeping and no slamming. The vessels also

have a bulbous bow to reduce the bow wave

and improve seakeeping. The vessels, which

also have a novel hybrid propulsion system,

are described in detail in the December issue

of OSJ.

Among other recent deliveries from the

yard is a hull for a 68.23m OSV for Awaritse

Nigeria Ltd. This vessel is designed to operate

in Chevron’s oil fields offshore Nigeria and

is due to be launched in November 2014.

Construction of a 70m PSV, Delta Admiral,

for Delta Logistics is also in full swing at

the yard. This vessel is intended for the oil

fields offshore Trinidad and Tobago. It was

due to be delivered in October. West Africa

is another area where De Hoop’s strategy of

designing and building vessels for relatively

benign environments has paid off.

Mr Janssens joined Shipyard De Hoop

in 2004. He holds a master’s degree in

international business administration and a

bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering.

He has a wealth of experience in managing

international shipyards and took over De

Hoop in a management buy-out in 2007.

Having earlier joined the board at De Hoop,

Mr Janssens adjusted the company’s strategy

to keep pace with changing requirements

and the evolving economic situation at the

time. The shipyard in Heusden was sold in

2005 (along with a yard that the company

owned in the US) in order to focus more on

innovative shipbuilding.

This enhanced the yard’s financial position,

making it stronger, more independent and

ready for the future. In 2007, when the

economy seemed healthy and the market

was picking up, De Hoop acquired the

Volharding shipyard in Foxhol in the north

of the Netherlands. De Hoop Foxhol was born

and started operations with 60 employees.

In October 2007, Mr Janssens took over

the existing De Hoop Lobith yard and the

operation at Foxhol and, since that time,

has developed a number of innovative but

low cost designs typified by the name given

to one of them – the ‘keep it simple ship’ or

KISS. OSJ

When he took over the yards now known as Shipyard De Hoop, Patrick Janssens implemented a strategy that focused on designing and building practical, economic ships – it worked, and the company now has more OSVs on order than any other yard in Europe

Janssens’ strategy pays dividends as orders grow

Patrick Janssens positioned De Hoop to concentrate on the market for low cost vessels – doing so has certainly paid off

Deep Helder is one of the latest deliveries by Shipyard De Hoop


I n April 2014, Royal IHC announced that

it had appointed Bram Roelse as the

company’s new chief executive officer. Mr

Roelse took on this role in the company from

his predecessor, Dirk Philips, who stepped back

in November 2013.

Mr Roelse (56) has worked at Royal IHC for

the past 13 years. He was originally appointed as

managing director of the company’s business unit

IHC Systems. At the end of 2004, he moved to

the company’s shipyard at Kinderdijk, where he

became director of the dredging division.

As a member of Royal IHC’s board of

management since 2002, Mr Roelse began work

in his previous post as chief operating officer

in September 2013, when he also became a

member of the board of directors. Prior to his

time at Royal IHC, he had gained invaluable

experience in the naval shipbuilding and oil and

gas industries.

IHC Merwede changed its name to Royal

IHC earlier in 2014, when His Majesty the King

awarded the honorary title of Koninklijk (Royal)

to IHC Merwede. In light of this honour, the

company has decided to change its name to

Royal IHC and included the royal crown in its

revised corporate identity.

The royal title is an award granted to

companies or organisations that meet certain

conditions. To qualify, the nominated company

must have been in existence for at least 100

years and be of a certain size and quality. It

must be of national importance to and have

prominence in the Netherlands – preferably

with an international outlook – and the size of

the company, the number of employees and its

annual turnover are also taken into account.

In 2013, IHC Merwede had been in

existence for 325 years. Its predecessors,

Kinderdijk shipyards, L Smit & Zoon and J & K

Smit, were already active in the 17th century,

and the other four IHC shipyards were active

from the late 19th century (Gusto in Schiedam

and Conrad in Haarlem) and beginning of

the 20th century (Verschure in Amsterdam

and De Klop in Sliedrecht). In 1943, the

six shipyards – specialising at the time in

the construction of dredging equipment and

tin mills – decided to collaborate and took

the name Industrieele Handels Combinatie

(IHC) Holland. Nowadays, IHC Merwede is

renowned as the world’s leading supplier of

dredging equipment and plays a major role in

the offshore oil and gas industry, designing

and building a range of offshore vessels.

Pipelay vessels are a particular speciality.

Speaking at the time that the decision was

announced, Mr Roelse said the company was

extremely proud to have received the title. “In

changing our name to Royal IHC and adding the

royal crown to the revised logo, we have reverted

the name back to the roots of the company,

which now has more than 3,000 employees.

Merwede was added to IHC in 2005 after the

merger between the two companies, but we feel

that the new name matches the current need for

projecting one company to the outside world.

The title and name symbolise the character

of this company, in which keywords such as

internationalisation, innovation, pride, passion

and dedication have played an important role

over the centuries.”

In 2013, Royal IHC had revenues of €985

million (2012: €895 million) and a net profit of

€56 million (2012: €37 million). The company

noted that, in the dredging market, new

investments continue to be made selectively, and

these are dependent on the latest regulations

and the addition of new products. “The offshore

market continues to evolve,” said the company,

noting that Royal IHC profited from the sale of

various vessels and equipment, including six

pipelaying vessels to SapuraKencana and Subsea

7 – the company’s largest ever order.

Mr Roelse said the increase in the

company’s orderbook was due to the successful

implementation of the group’s long-term

business strategy, especially in the dredging

and offshore markets. “We are in a strong

position moving forward with a stable platform

for ongoing development on a global basis,” he

concluded. OSJ

2014 was a significant year for Royal IHC in the Netherlands, the former IHC Merwede, which can trace its roots as a shipbuilder back hundreds of years

Roelse takes charge in significant year for Royal IHC

Bram Roelse45

Bram Roelse became CEO at Royal IHC in April 2014

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C ompiling a publication like OSJ Industry

Leaders, it would be easy to focus almost

exclusively on leading shipowners,

designers and builders and neglect other people

who don’t run companies or yards but who have

played a really important role in the industry.

One such person is Ian Giddings, who retires

in January 2015 from his longstanding role as

a technical adviser at the International Marine

Contractors Association (IMCA).

As is obvious to anyone in the offshore

support vessel industry, dynamic positioning

(DP) is playing an ever more important role in

it, and Mr Giddings has long been acknowledged

worldwide as an expert in this increasingly

important area. As such, he has played a pivotal

role in framing guidance issued by IMCA on

DP and related subjects and – as highlighted

earlier this year in OSJ when we first highlighted

Mr Gidding’s retirement plans – for many years,

he has been the industry’s ‘go-to’ man for

expertise on DP.

He joined the merchant navy at 16 and

had intended to go to university but ended

up serving 14 years aboard a variety of vessel

types, gaining his certificate of competency as

a master mariner. His first awareness of DP was

when he was at sea on a vessel trading general

cargo around the Mediterranean. The lookout

was chatting about the last vessel he’d been on

“that stayed where it was by putting a wire over

the side”. “I have to admit that my reaction was

‘OK, it doesn’t sound as if that’s true, but I’ll

believe you’,” Mr Giddings said.

Having come ashore, he took a job at

Aberdeen College as a lecturer, the first-ever

centre in the UK to install a DP simulator. He

had been at the college for a couple of years

when a lecturer on DP was needed, so he

stepped in. A few years later, the team leader

for marine operations left, and Mr Giddings

took on the role with responsibility for DP and

for getting new equipment commissioned and a

new DP simulator installed.

“DP is expensive and all about reputation

and credibility,” he said. “If you are going to

stand up and try to teach mature students eager

to learn in order to earn their living, you must

know what you are talking about, and I believe

there is no better way of knowing what you are

talking about than saying ‘I’ve been there, seen

it, done it and got the tee-shirt.’

“I’ve been involved (with DP) for 28 years.

Indeed, I celebrated 25 years when Howard

Shatto was celebrating the half century of DP,”

he explained, noting that there have been a huge

number of changes in that quarter century or so.

In 1998, Mr Giddings left Aberdeen College

to join the Nautical Institute, the professional

body for qualified mariners, as their education

and training manager, becoming director

of education and training in 2004. His role

encompassed DP certification and distance

learning courses and the education of members

to ensure their career development and growth

by means of CPD. “It was an interesting job,”

he explained, “with new centres to be validated

around the world. We developed systems

and improved them for centres. We started

the annual DP instructors’ meeting where

problems, challenges and solutions could be

shared and discussed.”

In those days, the number of centres had

hardly reached double figures – now, there are

70 around the world. “I worry about that,” he

said. “It is understandable that every country

wants their own DP training centre, but in

the past, we had fewer centres but they were

quality centres with people dedicated to DP and

attracting students from around the globe. Yes,

local centres are more economic, but they take

time to build up. Fragmentation is a problem,

DPO training is OK, DPO experience is OK,

DP certification is OK, but what you want is

competence.” Mr Giddings shared his concerns

on the growth of certification schemes in the OSJ

Guide to Dynamic Positioning a few months ago.

He left the institute in 2006 to join IMCA as

technical adviser, where his wealth of experience

in the maritime field has underpinned his work,

especially with IMCA’s marine division, but

also in related areas and alongside the other

members of the technical team.

Working with members on the preparation

of vital guidance aimed at increasing safety

and efficiency has been the core of his activity

along with dealing with incident reports. “In

the early days, a lot of incidents were down to

human error and equipment failure. Now, you

are starting to see things in areas I would call

the un-understandable such as computers and

software. At IMCA, we are planning DP safety

flashes if an incident has a clear message. DPOs

need to learn the lessons and not do it again but

always keep one eye over their shoulder for the

next major incident that’s not going to go the

way you want it to go.”

Looking ahead, Mr Giddings says he foresees

greater integration of systems and the ability to

display the DP system widely so those on board

can select the information they need, and he

says he can foresee the DP system controlled

by the equivalent of an iPad. Unmanned vessels

could be possible, he says, but he is doubtful

about unmanned offshore vessels.

With retirement approaching, Mr Giddings

plans to spend more time on genealogy and on

astronomy (he has a maths and astronomy Open

University degree), reading, writing, enjoying

listening to the Blues and indulging his passion

for learning. He has been a regular speaker

at the OSJ Annual Conference and Exhibition

and at RMM’s European Dynamic Positioning

conference, and we wish him a long, happy and

healthy retirement. OSJ

IMCA’s retiring technical advisor Ian Giddings has devoted decades to training, competence, safety and efficiency on offshore vessels – something owners everywhere can thank him for

DP expert played major role developing industry guidance

46Ian Giddings

Ian Giddings has played a vitally important role at IMCA, preparing guidance that increases safety and efficiency

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D et Norske Veritas (DNV), one part of

what recently became DNV GL, was

formed 150 years ago, and Germanischer

Lloyd (GL), the other half of the classification

society, is of a similar age. They merged in

2014, combining their history of knowledge and

experience to provide solutions to the future

challenges faced by the shipping industry, of

which offshore support vessels (OSVs) and the

OSV industry are a part.

DNV GL classes more offshore vessels than

any other classification society. Of course, it

doesn’t only focus on offshore vessels, but it

is a leader in that field. Its remit is to address

the challenges facing the shipping industry as

a whole, but in doing so, it inevitably addresses

issues facing OSV owners everywhere. Many

maritime administrations put their trust in DNV

GL and have delegated tasks to them in relation

to the certification of ships according to IMO

Conventions and Codes. DNV GL is authorised

by more than 80 administrations to issue

certificates on their behalf and attends most

IMO committee and subcommittee meetings,

either as representatives of the International

Association of Classification Societies (IACS) or

as advisors to national administrations. DNV GL

also advises shipowners on how best to comply

with the globally applicable IMO regulations.

The shipping industry – and offshore vessels

– will face many significant challenges in the

years to come, and the application of new

technology and innovation will be crucial in

addressing them. The shipping industry as a

whole places a great deal of trust in DNV GL

and its ability to continue to provide new tools

to improve safety and enhance performance

throughout the maritime industry. As a pioneer

in so many aspects of the shipping and offshore

business, not to mention renewable energy

and business assurance, DNV GL’s technical

expertise and vision is relied on not just in the

maritime industry but by many others, too.

As Mr Svensen noted recently, 2014 was a

milestone year for DNV GL. It celebrated its

150th anniversary and the first year of the new,

combined organisation. “Even though our focus

has remained true over this span, to safeguard

life, property and the environment, we have

been able to adapt to changing customer

expectations, market trends, new regulatory

requirements and many new technologies,”

said Mr Svensen. “At the heart of all of this

is the question of whether a class society can

create value for customers in the shipping

industry. And at DNV GL, both our history and

our future are focused on offering services that

enable our customers to advance.”

Prior to becoming CEO of DNV GL

Maritime, Mr Svensen was the president of

DNV Maritime and Oil & Gas. He graduated

from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne

in 1978 with a degree in naval architecture

and shipbuilding, subsequently receiving a

PhD from the same university in 1983. He

joined DNV in 1993 as head of section for

environmental loads. In 1996, he became a

regional manager, based in Singapore and

responsible for all DNV activities in Southeast

Asia. In 2000, he was appointed technical

director, and over the period 2003–2010, he

was chief operating officer of DNV Maritime

with responsibility for classification and all

other DNV maritime activities worldwide. In

the period 2007–2008, he was also chairman of

IACS. From 2010–2012, he was president and

deputy CEO of DNV. From April 2012, following

the reorganisation of DNV into three separate

operational companies, he became president of

DNV Maritime and Oil & Gas.

“Moving into 2015, one of our most important

ongoing tasks is to develop a common rule set –

one that combines the best of the existing rule

sets of the two classification societies with

modern risk-based principles,” he said. “This is

a massive task, but we see it as essential for the

future of DNV GL. The rule set is the signature of

a classification society and forms the foundation

of our organisation.”

As he noted, the maritime industry has

undergone a watershed over the last few years,

with owners increasingly focused on bringing

ships to market that are innovative in design,

maintain high value, have low operating costs

and are energy efficient. Offshore vessel owners

have been particularly forward-looking in

this respect, and several of them and their

commitment to innovation are also highlighted

in this special supplement to OSJ.

Mr Svensen says he believes that the

merger of DNV GL means that it can bring

greater technological expertise, experience and

enhanced innovation capabilities to bear on

these projects with its partners, particularly in

the form of solutions to operational challenges,

design changes, maximising efficiency, easing

regulatory compliance and improving safety for

ships and crews alike.

Mr Svensen said 2014 had seen DNV GL

celebrating its past but focusing on the future –

on developing initiatives alongside its ongoing

research and innovation so that its customers

can continue to benefit from its long-term

commitment to safety, quality, technology and

the environment. OSJ

Not many shipping organisations can trace their roots back 150 years as classification society DNV GL can, but as a future-oriented business, DNV GL is hardly sitting on its laurels, as Tor Svensen, CEO of DNV GL Maritime, has made clear

Maritime CEO celebrates past but is looking to the future

Tor Svensen47

Tor Svensen: “we have been able to adapt to changing customer expectations, market trends and new regulations”


J an-Piet Baars has been director, offshore,

at Vroon BV since July 2014, prior to

which he was managing director

of Vroon Offshore Services and before that

managing director of Maersk Ship Management,

Rotterdam. Prior to that, he worked as managing

director of Reederei Blue Star in Hamburg

and was a board member on the Nedlloyd

Pension Fund. From 2004–2005, he was director

network planning at P&O Nedlloyd and director

chartering and fleet capacity from 2000–2004.

He was general manager, Europe – Latin

American trades at P&O Nedlloyd from 1997–

2000 and was educated at Erasmus University

Rotterdam, where he obtained an MSc in

Business Economics, Finance & Marketing. He

attended INSEAD between 1985 and 1992.

In his current positon, Mr Baars oversees

one of the largest newbuilding programmes

of any offshore vessel owner. Vroon Offshore

has on order emergency response and rescue

vessels (ERRVs), field support vessels (FSVs),

platform supply vessels (PSVs), subsea support

vessels and anchor-handling tug/supply vessels,

all of which are being built at Chinese yards,

with Fujian Southeast Shipyard, Nanjing East

Star and COSCO Guangdong being the main

beneficiaries of the company’s largesse.

Four FSVs are being built at Fujian for the

company, with delivery dates starting in 2014

and extending into 2015. The first example of

the 60m FSVs, VOS Glamour, was launched in

mid-2014. The vessels are noteworthy for having

an innovative wave-piercing bow shape that was

specially designed for Vroon.

Also being built for the company at Nanjing,

with deliveries extending into 2015, is a total of

six 50m Group B ERRVs, which will be capable

of handling up to 300 survivors. The first two

vessels in the series have already been delivered.

Fujian is building two subsea vessels for

Vroon, which are due to be delivered in 2015.

The first is VOS Sugar, the second is VOS Star.

The 69.40m vessels will have DP2 dynamic

positioning systems, accommodation for 49,

a 4.8m x 3m moonpool and an active heave

compensated crane.

The PSVs that are being built for Vroon

Offshore are off two types. COSCO Guangdong

is building a number of 4,200 dwt Ulstein-

design PX121s, and Fujian is building a number

of 3,980-tonne Khiam Chuan Marine (KCM)-

designed units. The PX121s are 83.40m long

with a clear deck area of 850m2. The first,

VOS Pace, was launched in June 2014. The KCM-

designed units are 79.48m in length with a deck

area of 720m2.

Last, but no means least, Mr Baars’ company

recently took delivery of VOS Champagne, the

first of a number of DP2 anchor handlers with

oil recovery capability built at Fujian Funing

Shipyard in China. A sister vessel, VOS Chablis,

was scheduled for delivery in December 2014.

Vroon also recently announced that the

launch had taken place at Fujian Southeast

Shipyard of the first two of the KCM-designed

PSVs, VOS Pride and VOS Prime. The company

said VOS Pride and VOS Prime are the first two

of what will be a series of 10 sister vessels

ordered during 2012 and 2013. All 10 of the

multipurpose PSVs have full underdeck supply

capabilities that include stainless steel tanks

for the carriage of methanol and also provide

accommodation and work space for up to 40

client staff. The innovative vessels can also be

equipped with a walk-to-work system or active

heave compensated crane, leaving what the

company described as “ample space for a variety

of extra services”.

Vroon said its newbuilding engineering

department had worked closely with KCM and

the renowned yacht designer KER Yacht Design &

Engineering and Force Technology in Copenhagen

to optimise the design of the vessels in order

to ensure favourable motions and seakeeping

capability and efficient fuel consumption (both in

DP mode and during transit). To further enhance

onboard comfort for client personnel and crew

members, the designers also made extensive use

of noise and vibration analysis. VOS Pride and

VOS Prime are due to be delivered in the spring of

2015, followed by four sister vessels later in 2015

and an additional four in 2016. OSJ

Vroon Offshore’s faith in the offshore vessel market is demonstrated by the extensive newbuilding programme it has underway at yards in China

Baars building big fleet of vessels in China

Jan-Piet Baars48

Jan-Piet Baars is overseeing construction of a large numbers of vessels for Vroon

Vroon is building two types of PSVs, including a number of PX121s


P lans by Aberdeen Harbour Board to

create additional berthing facilities

at Nigg Bay received a significant

boost earlier this year when an independent

report estimated the economic benefit of

the development to the local and national

economies to be nearly £1 billion per annum.

The report was published in the same month

that the Scottish Government, in its National

Planning Process, named the Nigg Bay

Development as one of only 14 projects that

they consider to be of national importance

to Scotland.

The independent report, Economic Impact

of Aberdeen Harbour Nigg Bay Development,

commissioned by Scottish Enterprise and

produced by Midlothian-based BiGGAR

Economics, studied the impacts of a potential

second harbour being constructed within

Nigg Bay. It estimated that a full development

scenario, which includes upgrading the

road infrastructure around Nigg Bay and, in

particular, an improved coastal road linking

through to the Aberdeen Western Peripheral

Route (AWPR), would result in Aberdeen

Harbour – which is already the UK’s leading

oil port – contributing £2 billion annually to

the Scottish economy and supporting 15,000

jobs. This is an increase of 30 per cent on the

port’s current impact. Of this figure, the port

would contribute an additional £500 million

directly to Aberdeen City and Shire. Apart from

its importance to the UK, the harbour is one

of Europe’s leading marine support centres

for offshore energy and plays a critical role in

supporting the oil and gas sector in the North

Sea region as a whole.

According to findings, failure to expand

the harbour would lead to a decrease of £500

million per annum to the Scottish economy

by 2034 – an outcome largely attributed to

likely increased competition from abroad. The

findings of the report came as the potential

development at Nigg Bay was shortlisted in

the Scottish Government’s proposed third

National Planning Framework (NPF3), with

the document identifying the project as one

of national significance due to its major

contribution to the oil and gas industry.

Welcoming the publication, Aberdeen

Harbour Board’s chief executive, Colin Parker,

said he was “delighted” that the project

was being recognised for its full worth, both

independently and by the Scottish Government.

“This report, and the support of the government,

reinforces our belief that the development would

provide significant economic rewards, not only

for our customers, local communities, Aberdeen

City and Shire, but for Scotland as a whole,” said

Mr Parker. He said the initial studies indicate

that the £320 million development at Nigg Bay

could create up to 1,500m of deepwater quays.

He said this increase in capacity is vital in order

to accommodate the demands that the harbour

is currently facing whilst also positioning it to

attract future traffic flows associated with the

subsea and renewables sectors. “The results of

this research show that any additional capacity

at the port would further support the oil and gas

industry supply chain ensuring there is a long-

term vibrant sector anchored in Scotland,” said

Mr Parker, noting that the harbour at present is

operating at near capacity.

Mr Parker joined Aberdeen Harbour Board in

1987 as a navigation control officer, becoming

assistant harbour master in 1990. He became

harbour master in 1994 and was promoted

to operations director in 2003 before being

appointed chief executive in 2006, and he

has already overseen a number of important

developments at the port. A former merchant

navy officer, he is chairman of the British Ports

Association and a member of the management

committee of port skills and safety. He was

a board member of Aberdeen and Grampian

Chamber of Commerce from 2006 to 2011 and

is chairman of the northeast committee of the

Scottish Council for Development and Industry,

having joined in 2009.

The harbour board’s Directions for Growth

document, published in December 2012,

identified Nigg Bay as its preferred location

for harbour expansion. It is believed a new

deepwater facility at this location would provide

much needed additional capacity. Designed, to

further support oil and gas – in particular,

subsea maintenance and decommissioning – it

would also support additional freight traffic and

provide transport links to the Northern Isles and

attract more cruise ships to the region.

In October 2014, Aberdeen Harbour

welcomed the largest vessel to have docked

in the city, as its latest plans for the proposed

expansion at Nigg Bay continued on public

display. The vessel, Pacific Adventure, a general

cargo and container vessel 160m in length,

now holds the record at the port, beating

previous record holder diving support vessel

Skandi Arctic. The Hartmann Project Lines

vessel, under the agency of Euroline Shipping,

recently arrived with a cargo of oil field

materials from Mauritania.

Mr Parker noted that the harbour’s ability to

accommodate vessels of this size was thanks to

an earlier programme of strategic engineering

work, completed in 2012, which widened and

deepened the navigation channel. He said it

also illustrated a trend towards bigger, more

efficient vessels requiring access to Aberdeen

and further reinforced the need for the

development of a second, deeper port facility

at Nigg Bay. In addition to increased economic

activity, the development project – which the

harbour board hopes will commence in 2017 –

could create as many as 7,000 jobs. OSJ

Colin Parker, chief executive at Aberdeen Harbour Board, has overseen wide-ranging improvements to the port, but the next stage of work there could be on an altogether different scale

Experienced chief exec leads oil port’s development

49Colin Parker

Colin Parker: “Nigg Bay development is vital for subsea work”


B oskalis’s fast growth into the

offshore market has come since Peter

Berdowski became CEO, having been

a member of the board of management since

1997 and chairman since 2006. Before joining

Boskalis, Mr Berdowski has had a number of

management positions at Shell and served as

managing partner of Krekel Van der Woerd

Wouterse. He also serves as the chairman

of the board at Amega Holding B and has

a number of other board roles. He studied

chemistry at the University of Utrecht.

In late 2012, Boskalis made an offer

for semi-submersible heavy-lift operator

Dockwise, an offer that ultimately was

successful. As Mr Berdowksi noted at the

time that the deal was first posited, the

combination of the two companies provides

new strategic opportunities for accelerated

growth in offshore services, and the addition

of Dockwise to the Boskalis group has created

a service provider with an extensive package

of services for clients in the oil and gas

sector. Boskalis had already acquired another

company that would create value for Boskalis

in the form of Smit, whose interests at the time

lay in marine salvage and harbour towage.

Then, in November 2014, it began acquiring

a stake in Fugro, which has an extensive

portfolio of offshore activities. Boskalis has

acquired a 14.8 per cent stake in the survey

well known Dutch specialist company in what

could well be the first step in a full takeover

of the company, although for the time being,

Boskalis insists that it does not intend to

attempt a take-over. On 10 November, Boskalis

confirmed that it had fractionally increased

its stake in Fugro to 15.0 per cent but again

said that it had no intention to make an offer

for Fugro.

In a statement, Mr Berdowski said Boskalis

viewed Fugro “as an interesting company”

with activities that fit very well with its own

activities. He said Boskalis wanted to enter

into a dialogue with Fugro to explore possible

options for co-operation.

He highlighted the fact that – as was

the case with the Dockwise acquisition –

Boskalis’s strategy is focused on offshore

and maritime infrastructure, making use of

the combination of knowhow and maritime

assets. “This fits very well with the activities

of Fugro,” he said. “The two companies

have a lot in common in the area of assets,

knowledge, capital intensity, global coverage,

client base and are both global leaders in

niche markets.

“Fugro is an attractive company with

activities that fit together well with those of

Boskalis. For many years, we have worked

together on numerous projects throughout the

world and there are strong similarities in the

working environment and culture. We would

like to speak and explore with the management

of Fugro possibilities for cooperation.”

For its part, Fugro says it wants to

continue as an independent company, but

that hasn’t stopped analysts assuming that

eventually Boskalis will make a bid for the

whole company. Fugro has also said that it is

open to talks on a partnership for its subsea

business unit.

Fugro has been having a tough time

in the last few months – its shares nose-

dived in October when the company said it

might not pay a dividend this year because

of deterioration in oil and gas markets. The

recent steep decline in the oil price isn’t going

to help it and could make a bid from Boskalis

more attractive. That said, Fugro is said to be

one of the best-protected companies on the

Amsterdam stock exchange and has several

possible lines of defence it could use to rebuff

a bid from Boskalis or another suitor.

Boskalis realised a net profit of €253

million in the first half of 2014 (compared

with €123 million in the same period in

2013). Revenue rose 21 per cent in the

first half of the year to €1.5 billion (€1.3

billion in the first half of 2013). Organic

revenue growth was 13.4 per cent. EBITDA

amounted to €466 million in the first six

months, and the operating result (EBIT) was

€338 million. (EBITDA was €280 million and

EBIT was €162 million in the same period a

year earlier.)

The company’s offshore energy segment

had a good first half of the year with a

high fleet utilisation rate and good project

margins. Furthermore, Dockwise contributed

an extra quarter to earnings compared to 2013

in addition to a sizable contribution from

cancellation and rescheduling fees.

Mr Berdowski said the company had posted

a historically high result in the first half of

2014, and performance across the board had

been very good. “This result is partly thanks

to the strategic choice we made to broaden

our focus on offshore,” he said. “Offshore

activity is becoming increasingly important

and the contribution of Dockwise forms a key

part of this. But the traditional core dredging

activities also made an excellent contribution

to the results.”

Despite growing reluctance in the offshore

sector to make investment decisions when it

comes to large projects, Mr Berdowski said

he was “cautiously positive” about its own

prospects in this part of the market. OSJ

Royal Boskalis Westminster is probably best known as a dredging company, but that is changing quickly – nowadays, Boskalis looks to the offshore oil and gas sector for a fair slice of its revenues and could be eyeing another acquisition

Berdowski bets on further growth offshore

Peter Berdowski50

Peter Berdowski has taken Boskalis into the offshore oil and gas market and could make further moves

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Offshore Industry Leaders 2014