Spring has arrived in Northern Europe, but the brighter weather has not coincided with brighter prospects for OSV owners in the North Sea, Seabrokers write in their April newsletter.
The downturn that has been experienced in the market showed no signs of abating in April, with average spot fixture rates well down on the comparable period for 2014.
In fact, average spot rates in April reached their lowest levels of 2015 for all classes of PSVs and anchor handlers.
The focus on the part of vessel owners remains firmly on trying to maintain utilisation with the market suffering from significant oversupply, particularly on the PSV side. Some owners are now attempting to delay the deliveries of newbuild tonnage because of the difficult trading conditions that are prevalent in the North Sea.
Nordic American Offshore Ltd, for example, has pushed back the scheduled deliveries of two newbuild VARD 1 08 PSVs that are being built at the Vard Aukra yard in Norway; the NAO Galaxy and NAO Horizon will now be delivered in the first quarter of 2016 instead of mid-2015.
However, despite the delay, the likelihood is that the vessels will still be delivered into a vastly oversupplied market, Seabrokers conclude.