Platform supply vessel (PSV) demand is expected to grow significantly in the coming years.
But over-ordering newbuildings would result in imbalance between demand and supply, DVB Group says.
Demand for larger PSVs will continue to rise over the next two years but adding additional newbuildings to the already large orderbook is risky.
Oil companies’ spending on exploration and production (E&P) is expected to rise by 7% this year to reach $644bn with a growing share of the capital expenditure (capex) being used on offshore projects.
Therefore the overall demand for PSVs will rise along with all this significant growth in offshore activity.
However, global PSV fleet stands at 2,214 units, while 353 newbuildings are on order at global shipyards.
The newbuilding backlog represents 16% of the existing fleet in terms of vessel numbers, but the figure soars to 35% in terms of dwt, as the newbuilds on order are mainly for ships larger than 4,000 dwt class.