In October, spot day rates for new-generation PSVs increased, as the number of term charters also increased for the region. Last month, we reported that Brazilian PSV rates had sunk to USD 9,500 per day, however, this was somewhat misleading. It turns out an older small PSV outfitted for OSRV work, took on a spot charter at less than USD 10,000 per day. However, the wider market of new-generation PSVs, those greater than 4,000 dwt are currently trading at about USD 17,000 on the Brazilian spot market. While day rates have been under pressure; high-specification PSV owners have enjoyed an increase in utilisation. Nearly all market categories, for PSV and AHTS, increased the total number of term charters in October. Only PSVs of less than 1,999 dwt experienced a decrease in the number of vessels working. Brazil has moved into a phase of deepwater field development where demand for subsea support has grown at the expense of straight supply vessels which were in greater demand during the exploration phase. While there is still more exploration work to be done in Brazil, Petrobras has been focusing more time and capital on executing its floating production projects. In the last few years, quite a few simple PSVs have been converted to support shallow-water diving, and some for ROV support. This year another half a dozen PSVs spent months in the yard getting outfitted with ROV spreads at the expense of much capital from OSV owners. As long-term supply vessel day rates have fallen significantly over this last year, the rates for ROV support charters have become more attractive. With nine more FPSOs under construction, demand for ROV support will continue to grow. Back in 2010 the US Gulf experienced a similar trend, when an under-utilised fleet of AHTS converted to provide ROV support as the fields matured and subsea production became more prevalent.
展开▼
