Supply vessel is a kind of motor vessel which is used for transportation of goods, materials, and some different supplies which includes water, stores, fuel, oil, drilling rigs mud, etc. for the operation of deep-sea diving, crews or any other support to offshore operation equipment between oil platforms and the shore.
Supply vessel plays a crucial role in the offshore drilling operation. Its main job is to provide support to the marine offshore drilling activities by helping them meet the daily requirements for the offshore platform. It also facilitates the oil rigs in the installation of the equipment.
The end-users of the supply vessel are major oil and gas companies that use it for the exploration and production activities (E&P). Supply vessel is manufactured by AHTS vessel manufacturers and is operated by head owners or by the chartering companies and hired on the long term charter.
Demand for the supply vessel and oil investment has a direct relationship. When major companies decide to invest in oil or gas exploration projects, demand for supply vessels tends to increase; every oil platform needs 3-6 supply vessels to support the platform’s daily activities, depending on the capacity and the location.
One supply vessel shall be standby all the time, which is a firefighting boat by the platform, and the rest will be traveling between platforms and shores.
Many offshore oil and gas projects are projected to be halted due to the recession in the world economy and reduction in the oil price, resulting in a dramatic dropdown of demand for supply vessels. Many small or medium-sized offshore shipyards went either bankrupt or under lots of financial debt of different countries, particularly in China.
As there were no buyers for the new buildings, they had to stop their buildings on speculations, and laborers were cut to one-third of their normal activities.
Supply Vessels was expected to grow in the year 2018 and 2019, but most of the market studies and predictions were the opposite. Oil price remains low, which is below the investment line, so investors hesitate to invest in the oil market.
At least for a couple of years from investing activity and exploration activities not seen feasible, which is a result of low price deepwater production. A huge supply of oil to the market and less demand from the buyer’s side is a good reason for the investors not to invest in further exploration. Therefore the motor drive of the Supply Vessels market is the main drive of offshore exploration, which comes from the oil investment.
To control the demand for supply vessels, there is a need for Oil & gas exploration and production activities worldwide. Demand for supply vessels also has a direct relationship with other offshore oilfield business activities, which can include survey, decommissioning, exploration, construction, production, maintenance, and upgrading production facilities.
Different types of specialized offshore support vessels provide a base for the activities at various stages of the oilfield life cycle, which are best suited for the project’s needs.
The supply vessel market has been divided into vessel type, depth, and region by the operation type. And in vessel type goes into different type; some of them are:
- Anchor handling tug supply vessels(AHTSV)
- Platforms supply vessels(PSV)
- Multipurpose support vessels(MSV)
- Standby and rescue vessels(SRV)
- Crew boat vessels(CBV)
- Seismic vessels(SV)
- Utility vessels and others
