Maersk Supply Service has sold additional two vessels as the next step in the company’s plan to shed 20 vessels over the next year and a half.
To remind, Maersk Supply Service’s announced its plan to cut its fleet of vessels and more than 400 jobs in the process back in August.
According to VesselsValue, the last two vessels to leave the fleet are anchor handling tug and supply (AHTS) vessels Maersk Chancellor and Maersk Beater. The vessels were reportedly sold on November 11 for an undisclosed sum to an unknown Turkish buyer.
The first six vessels Maersk sold were bought by Karadeniz Holding from Turkey. All of them were offshore supply vessels (OSVs) which were modified into powerplant ships by the buyer and renamed to Koray Bey ( Maersk Finder ), Faruk Bey ( Maersk Puncher ), Arda Bey ( Maersk Provider ), Nezih Bey ( Maersk Forwarder ), Goktay Bey ( Maersk Feeder ) and Mentin Bey ( Maersk Fighter ).
The Maersk Chancellor was built in 1986 in Denmark, and, with its deadweight of 2,900 tonnes, falls under the category of Large AHTS vessels while the Maersk Beater, built in 1997 in Norway, with its deadweight of 4,200 tonnes, is in the Super Large AHTS category.
In an email sent to Offshore Energy Today, a Maersk Supply Service spokesperson said: “We can confirm that Maersk Beater and Maersk Chancellor have been sold. The divestment is part of Maersk Supply Service’s announced plans to reduce the fleet by up to 20 vessels over a period of 18 months. The divestment plan is a response to vessels in lay-up, limited trading opportunities and the global over-supply of offshore supply vessels in the industry.“
With this last sale, the total number of sold vessels has gone up to eight and the Maersk Supply Service fleet total count stands at 49 vessels.
Offshore Energy Today Staff