Strong supply-demand fundamentals lure Greek owners to offshore

A healthy charter market combined with favourable supply-demand fundamentals has attracted Greek shipowners to the offshore support vessel (OSV) segment, while traditional Norwegian players are also intensifying their investments.

Prominent Greek shipowners, including Evangelos Marinakis, Konstantinos Konstantakopoulos, John Dragnis, and Semiramis Paliou, have made significant moves into the offshore market in recent months. These ventures include placing substantial newbuild orders and acquiring second-hand vessels, with a particular focus on platform supply vessels (PSVs).

Meanwhile, Norwegian owners are shifting their attention to construction support vessels (CSVs), steadily expanding the subsea segment’s orderbook.

Ageing PSV fleet

Commenting on this unexpected Greek foray into the OSV sector, SSY offshore analyst, Johan Gustafsson, noted that rising activity levels and favourable rates have ignited interest.

“Throughout 2023, the remaining laid-up PSV fleet has been reactivated, leaving limited room for further supply increases,” Mr Gustafsson explained. “With minimal newbuild deliveries since 2015, the fleet is ageing while global market conditions continue to improve year after year.”

New players in the PSV segment have moved aggressively on newbuilds, while more established OSV owners have remained on the sidelines. “During the market downturn,” explained Mr Gustafsson, “many companies underwent restructuring due to low rates and mounting debt. This has made traditional players hesitant to commit to large-scale newbuild programs.”

While traditional owners may re-engage with PSV newbuilds, it is unlikely to happen at the rapid pace seen in the past, he noted.

Stricter regulations

Newbuild vessels with advanced technologies are emerging as a preferred solution for complying with forthcoming environmental regulations, particularly those introduced by the European Union.

Mr Gustafsson highlighted two key regulatory drivers: the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), which imposes emission caps with reporting requirements starting next year, and the FuelEU Maritime regulation, which incentivises the use of low- and zero-carbon fuels.

Notably, as of 1 January 2025, offshore vessels of 400 GT and above will fall under the EU Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (EU MRV) regulation. Furthermore, from 2027 onwards, offshore vessels of 5,000 GT and above will be required to surrender emission allowances under the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS).

High-profile Greek transactions

According to SSY data shared with OSJ, Mr Marinakis-led Capital Offshore acquired seven PSVs through second-hand transactions in late 2023 and into 2024. The company also placed orders for eight PSVs and two multipurpose support vessels (MPSVs) at China’s Fujian Mawei shipyard.

Another significant deal came from Mr Konstantakopoulos, head of Costamare, who placed an order for six firm MPSV units, along with options for an additional four, at PaxOcean’s Zhoushan facility in China.

Norwegian ship designer Salt Ship Design said the MPSVs being built by PaxOcean will be based on Salt 101 MPSV designs. Each unit will have an overall length of 93 m, beam of 20 m, clear deck area of 1,020 m2, with accommodation for 60. The new vessels are designed to accommodate future installation of a 100-tonne active heave compensation crane or a gangway system.

Salt Ship Design will deliver the comprehensive design package, including detail design, for the MPSVs.

Salt Ship Design sales director Tor Henning Vestbøstad revealed some additional details of the MPSV designs to OSJ. He noted that the diesel-electric vessels would have a ’Battery Power’ notation, utilising battery power for spinning reserve and peak shaving.

“Another important feature is compliance to the OSV Chemical code, which signifies the design complies to damage stability criteria allowing carriage of more than 1,200 m3 of NLS (Noxious liquid substances) products,” said Mr Vestbøstad.

The first MPSV in the series will be delivered in Q3 2026.

“Since Salt was established back in 2012, we have now delivered design for a total of 25 vessels for oil and gas. Some of them are designed to be versatile within several segments and same for the latest ordered MPSVs where they are prepared for W2W gangway and 60 POB enabling operation also within renewables segment,” he said.