OSV newbuilding market nears tipping point

Has the OSV newbuilding market reached a tipping point? The answer might be as simple as, “Follow the money.” Since November, when Hercules Supply ordered a multi-purpose support vessel based on a Breeze Ship Design, with options for two more, money has begun to flow into OSV newbuildings. Leading the charge have been Greek shipowners with deep pockets and big ambitions.

Noting his optimistic outlook at Marine Money Week in New York in June, billionaire Greek shipping tycoon Evangelos Marinakis said he saw “light” in the market, instead of “darkness.” At the time of the conference his Capital Offshore had contracted four 95-m, diesel-electric platform supply vessels (PSVs), with an option for four additional sister vessels. Now, in a clear sign that Mr Marinakis wants to firmly plant his flag in the offshore sector, Capital Offshore has gone back to Fujian Mawei to order two additional 88-m battery-hybrid multi-purpose support vessels (MPSVs), upping the potential newbuilding programme to at least 10 offshore vessels.

And Mr Marinakis is not alone. Other Greek shipowners have joined the newbuild party, believing strongly in the returns available for new offshore vessel tonnage. As our correspondent George Georgiou reports, a ‘leading Greek shipowner’ has placed a ‘mega order’ for up to 10 5,000-dwt MPSVs with PaxOcean, with deliveries starting in Q3 2026.

“Other Greek shipowners have joined the newbuild party, believing strongly in the returns available for offshore tonnage”

Maersk Supply Ship (MSS), which is set to merge with DOF before the end of 2024, is the latest Scandinavian OSV owner to pull the trigger on a newbuild, joining Eidesvik Agalas, Island Offshore, Norwind, Østensjø Rederi and Rem Offshore.

Already controlling a fleet of some 200 OSVs, Saudi Arabia-based Rawabi Vallianz Offshore Services is investing in anchor-handling tug supply (AHTS), maintenance support and standby vessels.

Overall, OSJ has reported on shipyard orders and options placed for more than 50 OSVs since November. While day rates may not have reached the levels to justify newbuilds, Fearnley Offshore Supply market analyst, Jesper Skjong, notes that new tonnage will be needed for the aging fleet purely from a supply and demand perspective.

Newbuild requirements laid out in tenders by Petrobras should further drive orders, including the construction of the world’s first ethanol dual-fuelled OSVs.

Absent from the list is the world’s largest OSV owner, US-based Tidewater. That could well change in the new year, if day rates and vessel utilisation continue to rise, pushed higher by the current upcycle.

And how strong is the current upcycle? The Clarksons Offshore Index hit a new record in July, reaching 122.3 — up 157% from its low of 47.6 in 2018 — with offshore oil and gas capex reaching US$114Bn, jack-up utilisation at 88%, floater utilisation at 89%, global PSV utilisation at 76% and global AHTS vessel utilisation at 75%.

How many more OSV newbuildings will be ordered in the months ahead? Follow the money.