Navig8 Group is to establish its own fleet of offshore support vessels through the acquisition of Singapore-headquartered RK-Offshore Management (RKOM). The value of the deal was not disclosed. RKOM owns 19 anchor handling tug support (AHTS) vessels, plus two newbuildings, according to its website. It has another AHTS and a diving support vessel under management. Navig8 said the deal was expected to close before 30th April, subject to certain conditions being fulfilled, after which the offshore service company will be rebranded as RK8. RK8 will provide integrated QHSSE-compliant commercial and technical management services to platform supply vessels and AHTS vessels, the buyer said.

Havila Shipping has announced that Petrobras, the state run oil company of Brazil, has terminated a contract for the 3,017gt/1996 built PSV vessel Havila Fortress (above) due to run until July 2016. Havila signed the chartering contract with Petrobras in 2012 for a firm period of four years. Petrobras had also cancelled the contract for Havila Shipping’s 3,017gt/1998 built OSV Havila Faith in March.

Edda Accommodation has decided to cancel its order for a newbuild accommodation vessel at Hyundai Heavy Industries due to extensive delays. The vessel, which was to be named Edda Fortis, was ordered in March 2014 with delivery originally scheduled for June 2015. At the time of its order, the 155m vessel was described as a next generation accommodation vessel with accommodation capacity of 800 people and an interior design known as “executive standard”, with 850sqm of office space, a modern gym, sauna, two swimming pools, conference rooms and an auditorium. The ship was ordered based on the success of the first vessel, Edda Fides, which was delivered in 2011 and is the world’s only monohulled, DP3 accommodation vessel. The vessel is operated by Østensjø Rederi, a Norwegian marine services group that specializes in the offshore and towage markets. The ship appears near complete so should be offered for sale in the near future.

Østensjø Rederi AS, a Norwegian marine services group, christened their new offshore construction vessel, Edda Freya (above), at the end of April. Featuring a hybrid diesel electric system powered in part by a lithium ion battery. The new vessel was designed and built for the Greater North Sea market and utilises the environmentally friendly Corvus Energy ESS (Energy Storage System). The subsea construction vessel, with its highly reliable propulsion and DP3 system, was designed with a focus on cable laying operations, offshore construction and IMR operations. The vessel’s first mission will be with DeepOcean, performing installation work for Statoil on the Maria development in the Norwegian Sea and specifically, the modification of the Statoil platforms Kristin and Heidrun. The Edda Freya boasts a length of 150m, a beam of 27m and 2,300m2 of total deck space. The vessel is equipped for offshore work with a 150T dual tensioner vertical lay system and a 3,000-ton carousel situated below deck. The fuel saving, environmentally friendly propulsion system (Siemens BlueDrive PlusC) was implemented by Siemens in cooperation with Østensjø Rederi. By using variable rotational speed with optimal operation of the diesel generators in combination with the Corvus ESS, the system is expected to significantly reduce fuel consumption and the emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOX) and greenhouse gases (CO2/methane).

DOF Subsea of Norway has announced the extension of the contract for 2,733gt/2007 built multipurpose research and supply vessel Geograph for an additional 18 months by Petrobras. The vessel has been operating with Petrobras in Brazil since 2011.

Transocean Ltd., operators of mobile offshore drilling units, has reached an agreement with Sembcorp Marine’s subsidiary, Jurong Shipyard, to postpone the delivery of two drillships. Featuring the Jurong Espadon 3T design, the dynamically positioned ultra-deepwater drillships, which are being constructed at the yard, are now expected to join the company’s fleet during the first and third quarter of 2020. So far this year, Transocean had already postponed the delivery and related payments of five high-specification jack-up rigs until 2020 being built at Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd.’s shipyard, Keppel FELS. Furthermore, the company received a contract termination for its ultra-deepwater drillship Discoverer Deep Seas. Due to such postponements and shipbuilding cancellations, Singapore’s Singapore Sembcorp Marine and Keppel Corp. together shed some 10,000 jobs during 2015.

Ulstein Verft announced on 28th April that the first vessel within the renewable energy segment, and also the first with the newly-developed XSTERN ™ hull line design, had been launched. The service operation vessel for the offshore wind industry is one of two being constructed for Bernhard Schulte Offshore, and will be working for Siemens. The vessel will be servicing the Gemini offshore wind park offshore in the Netherlands. Both vessels are based on the SX175 design from Ulstein, and are equipped with the hull features X-BOW and XSTERN in order to improve the sea characteristics when the vessels are positioned alongside the wind turbines during transferral of service technicians from the vessel through a heave compensated gangway. The vessels have accommodation for 60 persons in single cabins, of which 40 cabins are dedicated to technicians. The final detailed arrangements and equipment for the vessels have been developed and specified in co-operation with WINDEA Offshore GmbH & Co. KG, which is the Bernhard Schulte Offshore’s affiliate for offshore wind projects. Ulstein has also revealed a patent pending Cable Arch system that, in combination with open top vessel design, results in an unprecedented total of 12,500t of power cable that can be laid as one single piece. The system is implemented in an LX109 design, a high capacity, highly efficient cable lay vessel with compact dimensions. Locating the a-symmetrical bridge aft, with the cable passing underneath, provides clear and unobstructed views on the cable lay work deck and cable stingers aft and the turntables forward. Furthermore the vessel features a large hangar with ROV moonpool and workboat storage. In combination with the well-known X-BOW® and X-STERN hull features, this results in a very cost efficient, safe and comfortable platform with superior operational uptime and transit speed compared to more traditional cable lay units.

Siem Offshore christened their latest Cable Lay Vessel Siem Aimery on 27th April 2016 at the Remontowa Shipbuilding yard in Gdansk, Poland. Mrs Karin Muck, wife of Mr Lars Muck, Business Area Manager of Siem Offshore Contractors was the Godmother of the vessel. The vessel then underwent final mobilisation prior to commencing cable loading activities for her first project assignment. The 4,900gt Siem Aimery and her installation partner vessel, the ISV Siem Moxie, will be installing the inner array grid and export cable systems for the Nordsee One Offshore Wind Farm in the coming months. Thereafter the vessel will continue with the winter installation campaign of the inner array grid cable system of the Veja Mate Offshore Wind Farm in the German Bight.

The new Oceana shipyard in Itajai, Brazil has successfully delivered their very first newbuild, a platform supply vessel of the PX105 design from Ulstein Group. The vessel was delivered to shipowner Oceana Offshore on 30 March 2016, and on 1st April, the vessel commenced a 6-year chart for Petrobras. A sister vessel is also under construction at the yard, and is scheduled for completion by late June 2016. The PX105 design is a large PSV design, suitable for work in the Brazilian oil industry. The vessels are 88.9m long and 19m wide and have accommodation for 23 people. With a deadweight of 4,700 tonnes they comply with the Petrobras PSV 4500 tender.