Demand rising for OSVs in Latin America

News was prepared under the information support of Online Daily Newspaper on Hellenic and international Shipping "Hellenic Shipping News".

28 Dec 2007

Offshore support vessel (OSV) owners active in the region continue to sing praises for Central and South America.  With as many as 238 offshore support vessels, of 254 total in the region, on term charter, why wouldn't they be pleased? In November, U.S. Gulf of Mexico vessel owners said they had yet to make official all of their plans to send more OSV equipment to the various Latin America markets.  Of three major markets in the Central and South America regions, Mexico, Trinidad and Brazil tend to garner the most attention these days.  Each of the region's countries has its strengths and weaknesses.  According to one vessel owner, Trinidad is perhaps the most accessible to new companies, while deepwater demand is higher in Brazil, but more potential could likely be had for vessel owners off Mexico, as their deepwater drilling programs kick off.   Conversely, another owner ranked the countries in a different order, citing safety issues in Mexico as a high concern.  Safety concerns were not the only issue, however, as the same owner mentioned the tendency for national operator PEMEX to require a lot of support work for an individual rig, sometimes four times as much compared to what a US-operator of the same rig might require.  Offshore support vessel activity in Central and South America appears to be steadily increasing.  According to ODS-Petrodata's most recent Global Supply Vessel Forecast, demand for large anchor-handling tug supply vessels and larger platform supply vessels will continue to trend upward into 2009.This region's notable vessel owners include Tidewater, by far the largest player with just under 50 vessels working in the various Central and South American market segments, followed by Maersk Supply, Marmex, Astromaritima and Brasiliera, each with around 15 vessels working in the region.  Trico has around a half-dozen of its 50-plus vessel fleet working in Central & South America, but the U.S.-based company has plans for further expansion in the region.  In late November, Trico acquired Active Subsea for $247 million in an effort to increase subsea service offerings and broaden its international customer base. Active Subsea has eight new vessels under construction that are due to be delivered between January 2008 and April 2009.  Active Subsea already has secured long-term contracts for three of the vessels. The first to be delivered will provide inspection, maintenance and repair to Petrobras in Brazil. Active Subsea's fifth newbuild, which will be delivered in the third quarter of 2008, is expected to start a three-year contract for work off Mexico upon delivery.With rig and field development activity in most Central and South American offshore hydrocarbon basins forecast to increase, OSV owners with the right equipment in place stand to profit handsomely over the next year and beyond.