An oil industry supply firm has withdrawn two safety vessels and is in negotiation with a union about laying off 11 staff, it was revealed yesterday.
Gulf Offshore, formed in 1991, owns and manages a fleet of 25 offshore support vessels, crewed by 560 seafarers.
The core fleet, operated from the company’s office in Aberdeen, includes platform supply vessels and anchor-handling tug supply vessels.
Its two additional multi-role safety standby vessels ended their long-term contracts in the middle of 2008 and have since operated on short-term fixtures. However, over the past month, there has been a reduced demand for their service.
Managing director Perry Kennedy said: “There are a number of new-builds coming into this market and, to successfully compete, a ship owner would be best positioned if he has a larger number of such vessels and thus is able to provide a full vessel ‘relief’ service, in-house. As Gulf only has two such vessels, we are unable to provide ‘relief’ and are unlikely to be the best commercial option for our customers.
“Whilst the company continues to seek long-term employment opportunities for these two vessels, consideration is also now being given to seek alternative employment for the associated crews within our wider fleet. Unfortunately it may not be possible to find suitable work for all of the 48 seafarers who crew these two vessels and therefore we have advised a small number of them that their jobs could be at risk.
“During an ongoing consultation process involving the employees and the unions, the company will continue to explore every avenue to avoid or minimise any redundancies.”
Andrew Linington of seafarers’ union Nautilus UK said: “It is something we are worried about in the sense that the bigger picture is, ironically, there is a global shortage of experienced ship officers. The biggest concern is that companies may cut back on training and, when the country recovers, the worry is it will all stoke up the problems in the future.”