OSV term demand in the Middle East continued to soften last month as seasonal weakness prevailed over the second half of the year. In June, the total number of vessels committed on a contract period lasting more than 30 days fell from 339 to 325. About a dozen vessels were off-hired and redelivered back to the open market while a few entered lay-up. The decrease was mainly due to the mid-year EPC project completions coupled with long-term charter conclusions in Saudi Arabia. After a steady rise over the last 12 months, term utilisation in the Middle East slipped from 54% to 52% in June. It also contracted by 2% compared to the same period last year, indicating a likely effect of the downturn. The decline in regional OSV utilisation last month also shows the gradual effect of the COVID-19 restrictions on vessel deployments that were first imposed in March 2020.
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