Among the various OSV categories, AHTS vessels and workboats are among those that would require DP features in order to work alongside an increasing number of newer jack-up rigs entering the market.
“A lot of the AHTS vessels in the market are non-DP, but the modern jack-ups need more powerful features like DP2 rather than DP1,” Leong said, adding that oil majors will only employ those older vessel tonnage if they have “no choice”.
In the workboat category, supply has been “really tight” and there is a limited number of DP2-capable workboats to meet the demand from oil majors, according to Leong. “As and when new workboats with DP capabilities are delivered, they will get the job,” he believed.
PSV newbuildings are also seeing demand especially from the greenfield regions of Asia and Africa. The shallow waters of Malaysia, with strong E&P activities by national oil firm Petronas, are absorbing tonnages from both PSVs and AHTS vessels.
On the average, the global OSV fleet is ageing with over 30% of vessels being of traditional build and in operation for over 25 years. To cope with present day operational demands, operators and charterers are looking to replace older vessels with modern variants that are better equipped to do their jobs.
As at 1 July 2014, OSV builder Nam Cheong’s build-to-stock business strategy has left the yard with unsold stocks of three AHTS/ERRV, six PSVs and two AWB/workboats for 2014. The shipbuilder has delivered 11 OSVs and sold nine for its shipbuilding programme in 2014.
In its shipbuilding programme 2015, the yard has unsold stocks of five AHTS/ERRV, three PSVs and one AWB/workboat, but it has already sold nine units including five AHTS/ERRV, three PSVs and one AWB/workboat.
Meanwhile, Singapore-listed Nam Cheong has reported a second quarter net profit of MYR63.3m ($19.7m), up 55% compared to MYR40.72m in the previous corresponding period.
Revenue also rose 38% year-on-year to MYR378.81m during the quarter due mainly to progressive recognition of revenue from the sales of PSVs which contributed to 60% of the group’s total shipbuilding revenue.
As at 1 July 2014, Nam Cheong’s orderbook stood at approximately MYR1.7bn comprising of a mix of shallow and deep water OSVs due for deliveries up to 2015.
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