Solstad Offshore to lay-up 10 OSVs, retrench 300 staff

The latest move amid the offshore market downturn will mean that Solstad will add on to its current laid-up fleet of three, comprising of two PSVs and one small AHTS vessels.

“This will reduce the workforce by approximately 300 positions,” Solstad said in its latest financial statement. The Oslo-listed firm noted that the spot market in the North Sea for PSVs and AHTS vessels is marked by overcapacity and some 50 OSVs of these types are already laid-up.

“In the construction service vessel (CSV) segment, the activity has been higher, in both the North Sea and worldwide. The general market outlooks are still weak and have not changed during the summer,” the company said.

“In addition to low oil price, the uncertainty in Brazil and the sanctions between EU/US and Russia have not changed to the better for the market. The company expects that the market will continue to be weak in the remaining part of the year and also in 2016.”

As at 30 June 2015, Solstad’s fleet consisted of 46 wholly-owned or partly-owned vessels, made up mostly of CSVs, AHTS vessels and PSVs.

News of the additional vessels lay-up and staff retrenchment came as Solstad reported a first half net loss of NOK18.02m ($2.19m) as against a profit of NOK301.37m in the same period of last year.

First half revenue rose to NOK1.97bn from NOK1.74bn due to higher contributions from its fleet, mainly from the delivery of two large CSVs.