2014 A supplement to Offshore Support Journal

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comment

David Foxwell

Leaders take
a long-term
perspective

his year OSJs 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 havent 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 its 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
Herbjrn 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

industry
leaders

the UK. He has already overseen wide-ranging

improvements to the UKs 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 longserving 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
Associations 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 OSJs 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, Bourbons former CEO, whose
investment company Jaccar successfully gained
control of the Bourbon this summer.
Im pleased to be able to report that there
are more women represented in this years

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Supplement to Offshore Support Journal

Published December 2014

Sales: James Bentley

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e: james.bentley@rivieramm.com

Editor: David Foxwell

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e: david.foxwell@rivieramm.com

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ISSN 1463-581X
2014 Riviera Maritime Media Ltd

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.

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 Andersens companys 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
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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Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014 I 1

1
Kommer Damens concept
finds favour offshore
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 companys 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

For a company that only entered

the offshore vessel sector fairly
recently, Kommer Damens Damen
Shipyard Group is already enjoying
significant success there

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, OSJs Industry Leader 2014.
Mr Damens companys 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

Kommer Damens approach to

shipbuilding has seen the companys
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.
Damens 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 Damens 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, Brazils 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 Guaruj 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
www.osjonline.com

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 Johns, Newfoundland, the first ships
for the contract will be delivered in 2016 and
will join Atlantic Towings 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 subArctic 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 5000s flareless 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, Mexicos 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

Kommer Damen

Among the latest Damen offshore vessels this

one, CMM Gravity, was built for CMM
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 sevenyear 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 Damens 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 Bta Techniek;
and an Honorary Consul of the Federal States
of Mexico. OSJ
Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014 I 3

2
Differentiation is key says
start-up OSV owner

Herbjorn Hansson
Herbjrn

Formed at the end of 2013, Nordic

American Offshore has made an
excellent start to life, guided by
Herbjrn Hansson, the companys
executive chairman

erbjrn Hanssons 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 companys stock is
4 I Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014

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 startup 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

Herbjrn Hansson: we focus on one type

of asset, a strong balance sheet, and low
cash breakeven level
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
www.osjonline.com

 Anette Westgrd/Statoil

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3
Shipowner industrialist adds
German yard to portfolio
S

Kristian Siem

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, FSGs 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 shipyards
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 Siems 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.
6 I Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014

Long known as a shipowner,

2014 saw Kristian Siem invest
in a shipyard for the first time,
when Siem Industries acquired
Flensburger in 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 companys 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.

2014 saw Kristian Siem move from

shipowning into shipbuilding
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 500700 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 7s role as one of the worlds
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
www.osjonline.com

4
Malaysian builder wants
to be worlds largest
D
Datuk Tiong Su Kouk

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 groups 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 Sarawaks
largest integrated poultry producers and
producers of frozen food.
Nam Cheong Ltds entry into the
shipbuilding industry began with the building
of fishing boats in the 1960s. In the mid80s, 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 Cheongs listing on
the SGX, as a result of a number of contract
wins. In fact, Nam Cheong has secured a
www.osjonline.com

In November, Nam Cheong

Dockyard reported a record
third quarter, but that is nothing
compared with Datuk Tiong Su
Kouks ambitions for the company

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 dieselelectric 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 Cheongs position in the
industrys 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 Cheongs 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

Nam Cheong recently introduced a new

anchor handler design, the NCA80E

Datuk Tiong Su Kouk: partnership with

Marco Polo Marine will help Nam Cheong
in the Indonesian market
vessels in the same quarter a year ago.
The net increase of one new vessel to Nam
Cheongs fleet during the quarter resulted
in the groups vessel chartering segment
seeing a 9 per cent increase in revenue to
RM23.5 million (US$7.0 million). Overall,
the groups shipbuilding segment contributed
96 per cent of Nam Cheongs 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 Cheongs 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
Cheongs 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 Cheongs long-term growth prospects
and sees further demand for modern OSVs,
especially those equipped with fuel-efficient
features. OSJ
Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014 I 7

5
Joint ventures put Pang in
position to pursue growth
S

Pang Yoke Min

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

Mr Pang sees joint ventures in high growth

and cabotage-protected markets as a key
part of his strategy
8 I Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014

Under the leadership of founder

Pang Yoke Min, Pacific Radiance
has evolved from a regional player
in Southeast Asia into a truly
global one

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 groups 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 Navegao.
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 companys 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 companys 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 companys 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 groups 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
www.osjonline.com

FAILURE

IS NOT
AN OPTION
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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2014 Caterpillar. All Rights Reserved. CAT, CATERPILLAR, BUILT FOR IT, their respective logos,
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herein, are trademarks of Caterpillar and may not be used without permission.

6
Plougmann Andersen bets big
on AHTS and subsea markets
O

Carsten Plougmann Andersen

ctober 2014 saw Maersk Supply

Service order six large anchorhandling 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, shortterm demand for offshore vessels could fall,
but Maersk Supply Services 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 20062007 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

10 I Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014

Maersk Supply Services 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

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 Andersens 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 Services contract for the new
anchor handlers brings the companys 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

Carsten Plougmann Andersen: we want

our customers to remain confident that we
are prepared to meet their demands
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 Services 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
www.osjonline.com

Raymond Kim Goh

Swiber founder rolls out

successful strategy worldwide
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

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 nonexecutive 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 Swibers overall business, operations and
marketing activities. He sets the long-term growth
strategy for Swiber Group and spearheads growth
initiatives to expand the companys 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
countrys rapidly growing oil and gas industry.
Swiber Concorde, a derrick pipelay barge,
was the first among the Swiber Groups 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

Yeo positions Vallianz for growth

Vallianz Holdings, of which Raymond Kim Goh
is a director and non-executive chairman,
is led by Darren Yeo, the companys 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 companys
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

www.osjonline.com

further boosted its orderbook.

The groups 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.

The companies in which Mr Goh is

involved are rapidly expanding their
international footprint
an important milestone for Swiber Group one
that demonstrates its commitment to delivering
a full suite of services for the ongoing
development of Mexicos 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 COOECs offshore
construction activity and operations. OSJ
Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014 I 11

8
2014 sees Swire newbuild
programme in full swing

Neil Glenn

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

art of the highly diversified Swire group

many of whose core businesses can be
found in the Asia-Pacific region where
traditionally Swires 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
companys commercial director. A graduate
of Stanford Universitys graduate school of
business, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts in
philosophy, politics and economics from Oxford
University in the UK.
Swire Pacific Offshores parent may have
its operations broadly centred in the AsiaPacific 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 SPOs 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
SPOs 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 anchorhandling tug/supply vessels, platform supply
vessels, ice-breaking supply vessels, anchorhandling 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
12 I Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014

Neil Glenn: Pacific Gannet is the first of 10

G-class platform supply vessels
of 100 vessels by the end of 2015.
JMU has worked with SPO for a number of
years, completing the construction of its fourvessel 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 Corporations 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 fourengine diesel-electric power plant, large cargocarrying 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

Pacific Leader is one of a number of

newbuilds to have joined SPOs fleet

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Jeff Weber

Weber leads MMA into a

new, more international era
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

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 companys
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
companys 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 companys
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 companys

www.osjonline.com

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 companys 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 companys
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

Jeff Weber: MMA Offshore is

becoming more international and
focusing on high spec vessels

player in the international market.

Mr Weber said the companys strategy was
one focused on a diverse fleet with the ability to
move between key markets and moving to larger,
more specialised vessels including anchorhandling 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 masters 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 BHPs 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 companys
harbour towage operation in Dampier,
Western Australia. Mr Weber is also a nonexecutive director of Maritime Super Pty Ltd, a
superannuation fund dedicated to employees in
the maritime industry.OSJ
Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014 I 15

10
Bakke takes Havyard
brand to the Brs

Geir Johan Bakke

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

014 was a notable year for Geir Johan

Bakke, president and CEO of Havyard
Group in Norway. Havyard Group
was listed on the Oslo Brs mid-year, after
majority owner Havila Holding announced a
plan for an IPO in February. 2014 also saw the
first example of Havyards 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
companys 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 Fosnavg on 6 November, with the
distinction of having Norways 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
16 I Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014

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 prestudies 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

Havyard has evolved from a Norwegian

shipyard to an international brand

the company believes it is rarely given the

attention it deserves.
Havyard Groups 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.
Havyards 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 doesnt
stop there, however. The next vessel that
Havyard is building for Fafnir will also have
an innovative battery-augmented propulsion
system. OSJ
www.osjonline.com

11
Expansion sees subsea
firm enter new markets

Howard Woodcock

Led by Howard Woodcock, the

companys chief executive, Bibby
Offshore is continuing to expand
into new markets in Norway, the
US and elsewhere

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 companys 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

Bibby Offshore is expanding rapidly into

new, international markets
www.osjonline.com

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 Offshores 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.

Howard Woodcock has led the

development of Bibby Offshore from a UK
contractor to an international one
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
Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014 I 17

12
Seow sees good margins in
offshore vessel business
A

Gerald Seow

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, anchorhandling tugs, platform supply vessels,
accommodation vessels, harbour tugs and
crane and deck barges.
Poshs 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 Poshs
overall business strategy. He is also responsible
for day-to-day management decisions and
implementation of Poshs 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

Gerald Seow: Posh will continue to

optimise the mix of vessels in its fleet
18 I Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014

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

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 groups joint
ventures in Mexico. The groups 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 companys 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 groups 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 companys 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 groups
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
www.osjonline.com

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13
Order intake proves Klevens
strategy was the right one
A
Kjersti Kleven

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
companys 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 1520 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 companys approach has a number
of other advantages, such as shorter delivery
times, reduced costs, greener production and
a greener end product.
Klevens 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 Klevens 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
www.osjonline.com

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

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 familys 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 companys 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,
Klevens 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 groups reputation that it is
also winning orders from overseas, including
a recent shipbuilding contract with Malaysiabased joint venture company IES Pioneer Ltd
for a Marin Teknikk MT 6015 multipurpose
platform supply vessel. The contract was
Klevens 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 Groups 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

Kjersti Klevens back-sourcing strategy

and investment in new technology
continues to pay off
Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014 I 21

14
Chouest invests in
Brazilian base
G
ary Chouest hardly needs an
introduction to OSJs 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 Chouests 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 Mexicos premier deepwater port. Purposedesigned to reduce port turnaround time, the two
C-Port terminals comprise 18 specialised slips

B-Port will be able to

support 15 vessels simultaneously

Gary Chouest

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

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 Chouests 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 Au in So Joo
da Barra in northern Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Earlier in 2014, Mr Chouests 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

Gary Chouests latest venture sees his

company building a large supply base for
offshore vessels in Brazil
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 Au
Ports 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
www.osjonline.com

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Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014 I 23

15
Well intervention specialist
moves into top-hole drilling
O

Hvard Ulstein

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 companys 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 companys
investment programme and strengthen the
overall financial position of the group.
Details of the companys 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

Hvard Ulsteins company Island Offshore

has specialised in light well intervention
and is moving into top-hole drilling
24 I Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014

Hvard 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

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 longterm 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-toback agreement with VTT Maritime, which had
been awarded a contract for core sampling for
what is to be the worlds longest and deepest
submerged road tunnel, Rogfast. Together with
end client Statens Vegvesen, it was decided that
Island Offshores 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 250tonne 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, Hvard Ulstein, who formed
Island Offshore following the sale of the familys
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
www.osjonline.com

16
Wong looks to EPIC projects
and Mexico for future growth
Francis Wong

Francis Wong, Swiber Holdings

CEO, anticipates growth from EPIC
and shallow-water projects and is
taking the company further into the
Mexican market

r Wong joined Swiber in 2005 and was

appointed to the companys board in
November 2005. As Swibers group
CEO and president, Mr Wong is responsible
for Swibers 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
Australias 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 companys 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 groups 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 groups
administrative expenses were also pared to US$45.0
www.osjonline.com

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, Swibers 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 Mexicos 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.
Swibers 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,

Francis Wong: as part of our commitment

to Mexicos oil and gas industry, Swiber is
flying the Mexican flag on five vessels
we will continue to seize opportunities in growth
markets across the Asia Pacific, Latin America
and West Africa.
As at 12 November 2014, the groups
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 groups
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 Swibers
EPIC business, their businesses do not form
part of the groups core activities. As such,
the proposed sale is expected to help to lower
the groups 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
Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014 I 25

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17

Jeff Platt

Tidewater can weather

the downturn says Platt
Jeff Platt, Tidewaters 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

idewater effectively created what

is known in the US as the workboat
industry with the 1956 launch of Ebb
Tide, the worlds 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 Tidewaters joint ventures and business
in Mexico, and in November 2001, he was
promoted to vice president with responsibility
for all of the companys 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 dayto-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 companys 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

www.osjonline.com

for 58 per cent of the companys 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 companys 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 Tidewaters more than a decadelong strategy of replacing and enhancing its
ageing fleet was reaping rewards and that the
companys 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 companys 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

Jeff Platt: offshore industry is entering a

period of uncertainty
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 quarters 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 Tidewaters 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
Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014 I 27

18
Kneen invests in own
stock as market stalls

Quintin Kneen

With the oil price falling, Quintin

Kneen, GulfMarks president
and CEO, says he believes
the companys share price is
significantly undervalued, and he
expects it to rebound when the
market improves

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
GulfMarks existing newbuild programme
approaching completion, Mr Kneen has
restated his focus on long-term value
creation for the companys stockholders and,
rather than another newbuild programme,
has turned his attention to acquiring the
companys 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 companys 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
worlds leading offshore vessel companies,
with operations in the Gulf of Mexico, the
North Sea and elsewhere one that has
invested significantly in high specification
28 I Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014

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

Quintin Kneen sees repurchasing

GulfMarks stock as a good option in the
current offshore market
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 highgrade 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$490495 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,
MrKneen concluded. OSJ
www.osjonline.com

19
Ceona CEO sees Surf
vision coming to fruition
2

Steve Preston

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
companys existing debt arrangements and the
strong equity commitment from Ceonas main
shareholder, Goldman Sachs Capital Partners,
and brought Ceonas 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
groups 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 Offshores
first fully owned field development vessel had
been floated out at Bremerhaven, Germany.

30 I Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014

Ceona Offshore CEO Steve

Preston drafted the strategy that
guided the development of the
company from a start-up to a fullyfledged Surf contractor

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

Steve Preston has seen Ceona grow

rapidly to the point that it is ready to take
delivery of its purpose-built vessel
system, a reel drive system of 400-tonne reels
and two work-class remotely operated vehicles.
The vessels 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.
MrPreston noted that the successful delivery
of the two flexlay and subsea construction
vessels marks the conclusion of the first phase of
Ceonas 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 vessels 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
www.osjonline.com

20

Diederik de Boer

Cautious expansion
pays off for de Boer
L

ead by CEO Diederik de Boer, Singaporebased Miclyn Express Offshores latest

financial presentation painted a picture
of continued growth in the companys core
segments, including offshore support vessels
(OSVs) and crewboats that continues to justify
the companys capex strategy.
According to that presentation, the
companys OSVs enjoyed a utilisation level of
around 87per cent in the first half of FY14
and its fleet continued to grow in size, with
four externally constructed 7,150 bhp anchorhandling tug/supply (AHTS) vessels due to be
delivered in FY15, two of which will be deployed
in the companys joint venture in Thailand.
A market leader in the crewboat segment,
the first half of the companys 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
Boers 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
Offshores 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 bachelors 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 companys
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 companys development for the next
three years with what he called regional,
www.osjonline.com

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

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 companys 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, longterm 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 Offshores 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

Diederik de Boer: company is expanding

and investing in assets with an
acceptable risk profile
Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014 I 31

21
Third quarter was a record
breaker for Svik
H

Njl Svik

avila Shipping is one of the best known of

Norways numerous family-run offshore
support vessel owners and was founded
by the father of the current chief executive officer,
Njl Svik. In fact, when Havila Shipping was
established in 2003, it was the third offshore
supply company MrSviks father Per had
founded (Svik 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 Svik Supply was founded in 1981,
the offshore supply industry in Norway was in
its infancy. Today, it is one of Norways most
important industries, and the company that Njl
Svik leads is one of its foremost practitioners,
with a head office in Fosnavg, 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 Svik describing the
companys third quarter of 2014 as its best ever.
In a recent presentation, Mr Svik said the
North Sea spot market for AHTS vessels had
been better than expected in the third quarter,
particularly from August, with some contracts

Havilas anchor handlers did especially

well in the third quarter

32 I Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014

Havila Shipping had an especially

good third quarter, with its anchorhandling tug/supply vessels doing
particularly well

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 companys year to the end of
October better than last year, and the bottom line
doubled. Havilas contract coverage increased,
and Petrobras declared a four-year option on one
of the companys vessels in Brazil. Overall, he
said, the companys 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 Svik,
noting that he anticipated that Havilas 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 Svik 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

Njl Svik: third quarter of 2014 was a

record for Havila Shipping
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 companys 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 companys general meeting
Based on the estimates of brokers as of 30
June 2014, the companys 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
www.osjonline.com

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Rua da Assembleia, 10 2520
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T: +55 21 3545-0350
chartering@westshore.com.br

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510 Topsail Road, Suite 112
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Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014 I 33

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22

Shane Guidry

LNG leader looks to

Mexican market
I
n October 2014, fast-growing Harvey Gulf
International Marine, whose CEO Shane
Guidry was OSJs 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 Gulfs 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 dualfuel 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 yards 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

www.osjonline.com

Harvey Gulf International Marine

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

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 industrys offshore fleet as well as over-theroad 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 nations
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 Gulfs 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 Americas
future energy independence.
Harvey Gulf selected Lockheed Martin for the
construction of the facilitys 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

Shane Guidry: we recognise the growth

potential in the Mexican market
bringing significant economic impact. Harvey
Gulfs LNG facility will generate 70 new fulltime 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 Gulfs 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 Easterns facility in Panama City,
Florida. The RAmpage 6400 will begin a 10-year
charter when delivered in April 2016. OSJ
Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014 I 35

23
Hornbeck sees companys
shares as undervalued

Todd Hornbeck

Like a number of offshore vessel

owners in the Gulf of Mexico,
Todd Hornbeck believes that the
companys stock is undervalued
and has recently launched a
repurchasing programme

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 Offshores 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 companys
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
36 I Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 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 companys 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 companys fifth newbuild programme or
redelivered under the 200-class OSV retrofit
programme since September 2013, as well
as improved spot market conditions for the
companys 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 companys 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 prioryear period. The companys high-spec OSVs
achieved an average utilization of 78.6 per

Todd Hornbecks company has the

biggest newbuilding programme in the US
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 Actqualified MPSV will require 140 days of
out-of-service time and will be fitted with
a 35 ton knuckleboom crane, a motioncompensated 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 companys 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.
Hornbecks fifth newbuild programme
consists of four 300-class OSVs (one of which
will be converted into the flotel), five 310class OSVs, 10 320-class OSVs and five 310class MPSVs. OSJ
www.osjonline.com

24

Lionel Lee

Lee looks to Constellation

for economies of scale
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
companys 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 Singapores
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 groups subsea services
divisions 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 companys 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 groups
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
www.osjonline.com

Lionel Lee-led Ezra Holdings

has come to rely on the subsea
market for much of its growth and
is looking to its newbuild heavylift/installation/pipelay unit Lewek
Constellation to help drive profit
from that sector

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 AMCs projectenabling 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 groups 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,

Lionel Lee: Lewek Constellation will help

drive economies of scale
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, Ezras 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 Marines 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 1218 months. OSJ
Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014 I 37

25
Solstad sees revenues
hit an all-time high

Lars Peder Solstad

Focusing on long-term contracts

for its construction support
vessels continues to pay dividends
for Lars Peder Solstads offshore
vessel company

glance at Solstad Offshores 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 Offshores 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 recordbreaking 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 eightyear charter with Ocean Installer shortly
after delivery.
Mr Solstad said that financing of
newbuild and refinancing of the current part
of Solstads 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.

38 I Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014

Solstads CSVs are almost all on long-term contracts

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

Lars Peder Solstad: focusing on CSVs has

paid off and helps to secure EBITDA

strengthening Solstads 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 companys focus on
long-term contracts for this type of vessel
will help his company to secure predictable
EBITDA. OSJ
www.osjonline.com

26

Jean Cahuzac

Cahuzac homes in on
technology as a differentiator
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,
MrCahuzac 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

www.osjonline.com

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

that, after approximately three years of postmerger 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 7s clients were
still free cash flow negative. Since then, of
course, the oil price has fallen steeply. The
market had been growing at 67 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 Cahuzacs, 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. Its 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

Jean Cahuzac says technology is playing

an increasingly important role in the
solutions Subsea 7 offers clients
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 7s 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 companys 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
Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014 I 39

27
Subsea ships give Aase best
returns compared to value

Mons Aase

Anticipating a slowdown in the

offshore vessel market as a whole,
DOFs 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

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 Aases 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 groups 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 groups
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.

40 I Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014

Mons Aase: offshore market could

be volatile in next 12 months
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 companys 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.

DOFs 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 DOFs
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
www.osjonline.com

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28
Norbye says acquisitions will
restart dividend payments
F

Finn Amund Norbye

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 Banks
shipping division in Rotterdam, and prior to
that, he worked 12 years with Christiania Banks
shipping department. From 1996 to 1999, he
was head of the banks shipping department
in Singapore, and from 1993 to 1996, he was
head of the banks shipping department in
London. Prior to joining Christiania Bank,
Mr Norbye worked with Storebrand Finans,
Norges Eksportrd (in Stockholm, Sweden) and
Electrolux (in Bangkok, Thailand). He holds a
masters 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 10newbuild platform supply vessels (PSVs)

Finn Amund Norbye, Deep Sea

Supplys CEO, doesnt 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
couldnt contemplate

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 companys 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 Supplys fleet of 23
PSVs had an average gross income of approximately

Finn Amund Norbye: vessel acquisition should enable dividend payments to be made
42 I Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014

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

average gross income as in September 2014. The
companys 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
25PSVs 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 40days 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 companys third-quarter results were due
to be published as this supplement went to press,
but for the six-month period ended 30June 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
www.osjonline.com

29

Johannes stensj

stensj newbuilds due to

be delivered in 2015/16
A
leading
provider
of
offshore
marine services to the global oil
and gas industry, stensj Rederi
was established in 1974 by Johannes
stensj. 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 stensj is chairman of stensj 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 stensj 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 stensjs biggest customers.)
In addition, few individuals or companies can
claim to have taken delivery of what was, at the
time, the worlds 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 stensjs 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 worlds most environmentally friendly
supply vessel.
stensj 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 stensj into one of the most highly
regarded marine services companies in the
world. And the management at Mr stensjs
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 stensj
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

www.osjonline.com

Known for its commitment to

advanced, environmentally friendly
designs, stensj Rederi has a
large offshore construction vessel
and another accommodation
vessel on order

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, stensj 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 stensj 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

Johannes stensjs company will take

delivery of its new offshore construction
vessel in 2016
telescopic gangway with a length of 55.5m.
In addition, a cargo deck area of 2,000m 2,
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 stensj Rederi and Solstad, who have
supported the company as industrial investors
since its inception.OSJ
Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014 I 43

30
CEO sees design enjoy
ever wider currency

Gunvor Ulstein

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

owards the end of 2014, Norways 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 Tnnesen, 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 Corporations 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
Industrys council for maritime development and
member of the executive committee at Norges
Bank. She was awarded Business Woman of the
Year in 2006 and WISTAs 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-Norways prize for leadership Kunsten
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

Ulsteins iconic X-BOW design is being used on a new banknote

44 I Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014

Gunvor Ulstein: having our own yard helps

efficiency and impressive crew comfort.
Mrs Ulstein and her colleagues believe that
the companys 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 Oords 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
www.osjonline.com

We can safely say we go

the extra mile, or however
many are needed.
Topazs 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

/ marketing.topaz@topaz-marine.com

/ +971 4 440 47 00

31
Norwegian innovator unveils
another X hullform
Tore Ulstein

Tore Ulsteins 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

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 Ulsteins
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, Norways
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 Ulsteins
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.
www.osjonline.com

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
masters 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 2025 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

Tore Ulstein: we discuss operational

challenges with our customers and work
out technical solutions
operating in a wider weather window with the
same power consumption. The working deck aft
is enclosed, with no sea on deck or ice buildup, 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 patentpending in several countries, including the US
and in the EU. OSJ
Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014 I 47

32
Battery trials highlight
commitment to R&D

Jan Fredrik Meling

Not many shipowners have their

vessels described as a floating
laboratory, but Eidesvik Offshores
Viking Lady is just such a vessel

t is part of Eidesvik Offshores 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 Wrtsil 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 industrys 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 systems
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 Offshores
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 familyowned 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.

Jan Fredrik Meling and his colleagues have

a longstanding commitment to innovation
and to assisting with R&D projects
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
worlds 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 worlds 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

Viking Lady is being used to test the potential of

battery-augmented power on offshore vessels

48 I Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014

www.osjonline.com

33

Wes Bordelon

Family firm likes to

build its own vessels
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

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 companys 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 Stingrayclass 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 secondgeneration 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, weve 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.

Bordelon Marines deepwater vessels are tailored to work

in niches such as well stimulation and light intervention

www.osjonline.com

Wes Bordelon: we plan to continue

building vessels organically
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
Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014 I 49

34
Founder sees yards transition
to in-house designs
2

Simon Liang

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

Simon Liangs shipbuilding group is

building more and more offshore vessels
of its own design
50 I Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014

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

three Sinopacific-designed SPP17A vessels,

all of which will be built at Sinopacifics
Zhejiang Shipyard and delivered by the end
of 2015, after which they will work for
Pemex, Mexicos 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 dieselelectric 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 Sinopacifics
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.
Sinopacifics 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 worlds largest builder
of offshore support vessels. OSJ
www.osjonline.com

TO BE IS TO DO
IN HAVILA WE DO
IN ALL KINDS OF WEATHER

www.havilashipping.no

35
Remy continues to build
position in the subsea market

Stig Remy

Profits at Stig Remys 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 Remys subsea vessel offering

he Olympic group of companies owns

and operates offshore and fishing
vessels and is based in Fosnavg on
the west coast of Norway. Olympic Shipping
was founded in 1996 by Stig Remy and
Bjrn Kvalsund. Mr Remy 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 Remy 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 valueadjusted 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 Remys 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
52 I Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014

financial and operational flexibility, and the

companys 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 companys profits in the first half
of 2014 (the latest period for which financial
statements were available at the time of
writing). The companys 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

Stig Remy has invested cautiously,

but steadily, in new subsea vessels a
strategy that continues to pay off
www.osjonline.com

36

Bart Heijermans

Heijermans adds
geotechnical to portfolio
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 DeepOceans 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 companys
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 sevenyear charter agreement with Maersk Supply
Service for a newbuild cablelay vessel. The
www.osjonline.com

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

vessel is the DOC 8500, a Damen Offshore

Carrier that has been designed specifically
to suit DeepOceans requirements. The DOC
8500 will extend DeepOceans 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 sevenpoint 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
Holdings CEO in February 2012. He is well
known as a global energy executive with
more than 20 years of experience in the

Bart Heijermans has taken DeepOcean

deeper into the Surf market and more
recently the geotechnical market
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 masters 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 DeepOceans 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
Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014 I 53

37
Long-time investor takes
controlling share in Bourbon
M

Jacques de Chateauvieux

r de Chateauvieuxs 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 saleand-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

Jacques de Chateauvieux is optimising

Bourbons capital structure and solidifying
its financial position
54 I Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014

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

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 companys deepwater segment during
the third quarter of 2013 was in line with
the increase in the size of the companys
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
groups
shareholders with the successful tender offer
launched by Jaccar Holdings in July, with this
new hybrid bond issue, we are pursuing the
optimisation of Bourbons capital structure and
solidifying our financial position, said Mr de
Chateauvieux, who is also chairman of the board
at Bourbon. OSJ
www.osjonline.com

38

John Reed

Veteran drives revenues

towards US$1 billion mark
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 Mout, who steered the
groups 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 Reeds appointment
was announced, the companys 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 bachelors 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, Americas 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
www.osjonline.com

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

Atlantis and Harkand Da Vinci, to fund the predelivery 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 Harkands 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

John Reed is driving IMR and light

construction specialist Harkands revenues
towards a long-term goal of US$1 billion
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 Harkands
onshore team of project managers and engineering
services based in the Houston office and highlighted
the companys 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
Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014 I 55

39
GC Rieber CEO maintains a
long-term perspective
O

Irene Waage Basili

ne of only a few women to lead

an offshore vessel-owning company,
Irene Waage Basili, GC Rieber
Shippings 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 servicerelated 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 Norways 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
companys history. Total fleet utilisation was 99
per cent, compared to 96 per cent in the same
period in 2013.
The groups 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.

56 I Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014

Focusing on the long-term and

maintaining a mix of seismic,
subsea and ice-class assets has
helped GC Rieber Shippings CEO
maintain profitability

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

Irene Waage Basili: seismic market has

been turbulent but longer-term outlook for
GC Rieber remains good
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 longterm 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 Riebers 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
www.osjonline.com

40

Ren Kofod-Olsen

Private equity gives KofodOlsen scope for expansion

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

n 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 Topazs 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 Ren KofodOlsen, 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
www.osjonline.com

Ren Kofod-Olsen: SCPE is investing

because of its firm belief in the Topaz story
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 companys operations, Mr KofodOlsen 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 worlds 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

Mr Kofod-Olsen is focusing on keeping

vessels fully utilised and on controlling costs

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

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41
Pilenko sees subsea revenues
continue to improve
2
Thierry Pilenko

014 has, as always, been a busy one

for Technip, with numerous subsea
campaigns undertaken, work commencing
on high profile projects such as the sgard subsea
compression project in Norway, the pipelay
support vessel Coral do Atlantico starting operations
in Brazil and the companys Au 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 Frances Nancy School of
Geology (1981) and the IFP School (1982) and
is a graduate of the cole Nationale Suprieure
de Gologie as well as the cole du Ptrole 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

www.osjonline.com

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

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. Technips operating
centre in Aberdeen will execute the contract, and
the groups spoolbase in Evanton, UK, will weld
and load out the rigid pipe. Technip Umbilicals,
Technips 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 precommissioning 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, Technips
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 tiein 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 Technips fleet, North Sea Atlantic,
was taken on a long-term charter from North
Sea Shipping. Designed to Technips 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 ultradeepwater products and services. Proceeds from
the sale will be partially reinvested directly into
Technips 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 Technips
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

Led by Thierry Pilenko, Technip has

continued to improve cash flow and returns
from the subsea sector
Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014 I 59

42
Ice-class and high spec units
pay dividends for Remy

ge Remy

ge Remy is the founder and majority

owner of Rem Offshore and the
companys 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
lesund University College.
Speaking to OSJ earlier this year, Mr Remy
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 companys 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 lesund. 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 Remy 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 Remy has a longstanding relationship

60 I Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014

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

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 Wrtsila
Ship Design design.
As highlighted above, ge Remy has
invested heavily in light construction vessels
in the last two to three years. Speaking
exclusively to OSJ earlier this year, Mr Remy
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 Remy
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 Remy 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 Remy 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 Remy 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

ge Remys focus on light

construction, ice-class and more
recently AHTS vessels has paid dividends

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Support Journal
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43
Solid order backlog will see
Farstad through downturn
S

Sverre Farstad

verre (Andy) Farstad, Farstad Shippings

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 companys head office in lesund and
regularly drops in to Mr Bakkens 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 Farstads 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 anchorhandling 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 companys operations are
managed from lesund, Aberdeen, Melbourne,
Perth, Singapore, Maca 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

62 I Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014

Farstad Shippings 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

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 12months
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

Sverre Farstads company has had a

decent year, with new contracts awarded
and options exercised for its vessels
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 companys 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 companys 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, Farstads 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
www.osjonline.com

44

Patrick Janssens

Janssens strategy pays

dividends as orders grow
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

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 companys 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 OSJs 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-

www.osjonline.com

Patrick Janssens positioned De Hoop to

concentrate on the market for low cost
vessels doing so has certainly paid off
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 yards 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 Chevrons 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 Hoops strategy of
designing and building vessels for relatively
benign environments has paid off.
Mr Janssens joined Shipyard De Hoop
in 2004. He holds a masters degree in
international business administration and a
bachelors 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 companys 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 yards 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

Deep Helder is one of the latest deliveries

by Shipyard De Hoop
Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014 I 63

45
Roelse takes charge in
significant year for Royal IHC

Bram Roelse

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

n April 2014, Royal IHC announced that

it had appointed Bram Roelse as the
companys 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 companys business unit
IHC Systems. At the end of 2004, he moved to
the companys shipyard at Kinderdijk, where he
became director of the dredging division.
As a member of Royal IHCs 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

Bram Roelse became CEO

at Royal IHC in April 2014
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,

Royal IHC is particularly well known in the offshore

industry for its expertise in pipelayers

64 I Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014

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 worlds 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 companys largest ever order.
Mr Roelse said the increase in the
companys orderbook was due to the successful
implementation of the groups 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
www.osjonline.com

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46

Ian Giddings

DP expert played major role

developing industry guidance
IMCAs retiring technical advisor
Ian Giddings has devoted decades
to training, competence, safety
and efficiency on offshore vessels
something owners everywhere can
thank him for

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 dont 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 Giddings retirement plans for many years,
he has been the industrys 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 hed been on
that stayed where it was by putting a wire over
the side. I have to admit that my reaction was
OK, it doesnt sound as if thats true, but Ill
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.
www.osjonline.com

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 Ive been there, seen
it, done it and got the tee-shirt.
Ive 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 IMCAs 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

Ian Giddings has played a vitally important

role at IMCA, preparing guidance that
increases safety and efficiency
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 thats 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 RMMs European Dynamic Positioning
conference, and we wish him a long, happy and
healthy retirement. OSJ
Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014 I 67

47
Maritime CEO celebrates past
but is looking to the future
D

Tor Svensen

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
doesnt 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

Tor Svensen: we have been able to

adapt to changing customer expectations,
market trends and new regulations
68 I Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014

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

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 GLs 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 20032010, he
was chief operating officer of DNV Maritime
with responsibility for classification and all
other DNV maritime activities worldwide. In
the period 20072008, he was also chairman of
IACS. From 20102012, 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
www.osjonline.com

48
Baars building big fleet
of vessels in China

Jan-Piet Baars

Vroon Offshores faith in the

offshore vessel market is
demonstrated by the extensive
newbuilding programme it has
underway at yards in China

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 20042005, he was director
network planning at P&O Nedlloyd and director
chartering and fleet capacity from 20002004.
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 companys 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,

70 I Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014

Jan-Piet Baars is overseeing construction

of a large numbers of vessels for Vroon
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 Ulsteindesign 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 KCMdesigned 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 is building two types of PSVs, including a number of PX121s

www.osjonline.com

49
Experienced chief exec leads
oil ports development
P
Colin Parker

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 UKs 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
ports 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 Europes 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 Governments 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 Boards chief executive, Colin Parker,
said he was delighted that the project
was being recognised for its full worth, both

www.osjonline.com

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

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 longterm 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 boards 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 harbours 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: Nigg Bay development is

vital for subsea work
Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014 I 71

50
Berdowski bets on
further growth offshore
B

Peter Berdowski

oskaliss 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

Peter Berdowski has taken Boskalis into

the offshore oil and gas market and could
make further moves
72 I Offshore Support Journal Industry Leaders I December 2014

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

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
Boskaliss 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 hasnt 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 nosedived 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 isnt 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 companys 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
www.osjonline.com

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