AHTS vessel owners endure rollercoaster ride in spot market

摘要

Anchor-handling tug supply (AHTS) vessel owners operating in the North Sea have endured a difficult year, with many struggling to achieve sufficient utilisation at sustainable rates, according to shipbroker Seabrokers. If there was any hint of a silver lining it would be those periods of sustained tightness on the spot market in September and October, with several days seeing the sector completely sold out in Norway and Scotland and rates soaring. There were just a few vessels available in the southern sector of the North Sea. Seabrokers says the main reason for the market tightness was the relatively small size of the regional AHTS fleet. As a result, the shipbroker points out, it does not take long, particularly when bad weather delays operations, for supply to tighten if two or three rig moves materialise in short succession.