The world newbuilding orderbook for offshore rigs continues to swell. According to www.coltoncompany.com, there are now five drillships, 21 semisubmersibles and 55 jackups on order worldwide. The reason for the surge in ordering is, of course, that when oil prices were low, rig building took a two-decade sabbatical. Much the same sort of thing took place with offshore service vessels, something that is reflected in the 22 years average age of the 255 towing and towing/supply vessels in the fleet of the world's largest OSV operator, Tidewater. The new rigs being replaced aren't, except in a couple of instances, "replacements." They will add to the size of the world rig fleet and will thus, in themselves, create a sizeable demand for more OSV's. What's more, many existing rigs are being upgraded for deeper waters, moving them further offshore and thus increasing OSV requirements.
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