The offshore supply vessel market in the Middle East has the largest number of vessels in service that are older than 15 years, compared to other oil producing regions. Industry sources suggest that this practice is largely fuelled by an apprehension to adopt the new technology inherent with the newer vessels (less than 10 years old), as well as contentment with the performance of the ageing fleets. Nevertheless, the charter cost is ultimately the deciding factor, as some of the older vessels (1970-80 builds) go for less than USD 1 per bhp.
展开▼
