Captain Mike Meade sees that Singapore’s offshore industry still has struggles ahead and calls for finance to be made available to the country’s shipyards
Captain Mike Meade sees that Singapore’s offshore industry still has struggles ahead and calls for finance to be made available to the country’s shipyards
Founded in 2005, Capt Mike Meade’s M3 Marine Group spans offshore vessel brokerage, vessel and equipment valuation, consultancy services and remote survey and inspection.
Capt Meade first went to sea at 16 and has spent more than 30 years working in the maritime sector. He sat down with Singapore Solutions to share his views on the prospects for Singapore’s offshore sector. “Things are getting better, but they are not great and they are not going to get great any time soon.
“There are not many of us in this business who have lived through a downcycle like this one.
“The last one was in 1985 and it took 15 years for it to get to where things started to look rosy again, and it is going to be the same this time.”
Capt Meade sees China as being key to understanding how this the situation in 2019 differs from that of 1985.
“In 1985 nobody built OSVs in China, we didn’t have an excess of PSVs, we didn’t have cheap Chinese debt and, when we went into the recession in 1985 all the tonnage was on the water […] When we went into the recession this time there were still 1,000 ships being constructed.”
Reflecting on finance and his role as counsellor and chair of the offshore services committee at the Singapore Shipping Association, Capt Meade said “Our advice to Singapore Inc is to lend money to infrastructure, so support your shipyards.
“You have fantastic shipyards here, the biggest builders of jack-up drilling rigs in the world.
“When the resurgence does come back all these rigs that have been built in China won’t be commissioned in China – if you invest in and give financial support to [Singapore’s yards], then that work will come to Singapore.”
Moving on to his own company’s experiences with the downturn, Capt Meade said that while the company seems to be in recovery, things still are not great.
“It was difficult […] The consultancy business has done very well and it has kept its head above water right through this recession, but we went from being capital support for newbuilds […] to supporting the existing infrastructure.”
“We also diversified into valuations and so we are now the largest valuer of offshore equipment in Asia.”
Another new area of business M3 is venturing into is inspections using drones and ROVs, Capt Meade said.
“The equipment is not expensive, what you have to develop is the people. You have to train them.”
He noted that this area of business is so young that class societies are still establishing rules for how best to assess it. “So, we are guiding class as well as trying to get class to sign us off,” he said.
M3 is working with Singapore University of Technology and Design and Performance Rotors, a Singaporean company, to develop a locally-produced drone to undertake such inspections, Capt Meade said.
“That is where I see the future because we can replace traditional methods of survey,” he added. “You minimise the risk, you minimise the time, and you reduce costs, those three things are the drivers.”
Returning to the offshore sector to close, Capt Meade’s advice is straightforward. “Buckle up, you are still in for a rough ride.”
Capt Meade spoke on the outlook for the offshore support vessel sector in Asia and Africa, including Singapore, at the Annual Offshore Support Journal Conference in London in January 2019.
© 2023 Riviera Maritime Media Ltd.