Offshore market is ready for newbuilds to replenish ageing fleets

Fearnley Offshore Supply senior market analyst Jesper Skjong says the offshore support vessel market is quickly running out of commercial assets as those in operation are ageing and are not being replaced.

He was speaking during an interview at Riviera’s Offshore Support Journal Conference, Middle East, held in Dubai in December 2024.

Mr Skjong says the demand for support vessels comes from increasing capital investment by energy companies in developing new offshore oil and gas fields, and from hydrocarbon production from different regions.

Demand for support services will be high in the medium and long term, especially in the Middle East, which is seen as a stable market for vessel owners and operators.

On the supply side, there are still a still a significant number of vessels laid up that are unlikely to be reactivated due to cost and being commercially unattractive to charterers.

As of December 2024, only 40 anchor handlers and 30 platform supply vessels were on the global orderbook, and these will take around two years to be built and delivered.

This leaves a strong market for owners in 2025 to 2027, and an appetite for more vessel deliveries to expand fleets and replace older tonnage heading towards 2030.