A Fugro vessel being used in the search for missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 has been temporarily put out of action – after a towfish being used in the search crashed into a 2200-metre mud volcano. The company has been providing support to find the missing flight which disappeared in March 2014 with 239 people on board.
BW Offshore and Ithaca Energy said they have agreed on a termination of the FPSO, BW Athena.
This short clip shows the launch of the final pipelaying vessel in a series of three ordered by Subsea 7.
More footage has emerged of huge waves in the North Sea.
It might not look like much but this rough weather on the North Sea caused a ship to list 15 degrees. The footage was caught on camera by one of its staff on board the vessel. Watch the footage below from about 45 seconds in to see the worst of the waves.
Farstad Shipping has won a new three year contract for its CSV Far Sentinel vessel from Subtec. The vessel will carry out delivery of light construction work and other subsea related activities in the Gulf of Mexico.
Petrofac has terminated a contract with ZPMC over alleged issues with the its performance in construction of the design of a deepwater multi-purpose vessel. The international service provider said the move was “regrettable” but “necessary”.
Siem Offshore said it had received early termination for the vessel Siem Carrier after Petrobas failed to obtain an operating licence for it. The company said the termination fee was not applicable to Petrobras as the vessel was blocked by a local tonnage.
Gulf Marine Services (GMS) has won its first contract for the GMS Scirocco after completing the vessel ahead of schedule. The company said the jack-up barge will commence a four month contract next month for an engineering, procurement and construction contractor. All other vessels owned by GMS have been delpoyed to support brownfield oil and gas production, well services and maintenance work in the MENA region.
A plaque dedicated to two crewmen who died during the Piper Alpha rescue mission has been saved. Emergency response and rescue vessel Sandhaven was one of the first on the scene of the catastrophic oil rig blaze on July 6, 1988. Six men were rescued by the team, but it was overcome by flames when a second gas line ruptured and crewmen Brian Batchelor and Malcolm Storey died, along with 165 other men. Rig operator Occidental Group later donated a plaque to the Sandhaven as a tribute to the pair.
ElectroMagnetic GeoServices (EMGS) has signed two new licensing agreements with two oil companies in the Barents Sea worth $1.6million. The contracts come as the company revealed a loss of revenue in its second quarter earnings.
Electromagnetic Geoservices (EMGS) said it has reduced its headcount by 20% as well as reducing its fleet down to three vessels as it looks to make cost savings. The company said its revenues were down to $12.1million from $42.5million the same time a year earlier. Contract sales ended at $4.8million while sales from the multi-client library ended at $7.3million.
Ten years ago, Bourbon became the first offshore support vessel operator to take on a radical new design developed by Ulstein of Norway. The bull-nosed beast with its easy lined and fairly slim hull was known as the X-Bow design and the first of the class, Bourbon Orca, was delivered in 2006. Its front end was then and remains curiously reminiscent of ancient vessel types such as Roman merchant ships and the Italian trabaccolo, of which a few examples remain extant. In August 2006, Energy reported: “Norway has again demonstrated its ability to come up with a radical offshore support vessel design that could prove a major step forward, both operationally and in terms of safety.
Seadrill has taken ownership of an ultra deepwater drillship in a $456million deal with Ship Finance. The West Polaris was acquired by Ship Finance in 2008 and chartered to Seadrill with purchase options commencing in 2012.
SeaBird Exploration has received an LOA (Letter of Agreement) for one of its vessels in the South East Asia region worth up to $4million. The deal will see the vessel chartered for around 35 days starting in early April next year.
GMS (Gulf Marine Services) has won its first contract award for one of its mid-size vessels. The GMS Shamal will be chartered by national oil company in the MENA region. The company said the contract is for five years, which includes a two years firm option, with a further three one-year options.
A newbuild Diving Support Vessel (DSV) currently being built by Vard has been named as the ‘Deep Explorer’. The state-of-the-art vessel was commissioned by French services company, Technip. The company had previously announced in April plans to invest in the new vessel, which has been equipped with the latest navigational technology.
A deepwater vessel which will allow exploration n remote parts of the world is on track to be in use by next year. The Ceona Amazon, a hybrid construction and pipelay vessel designed by CEONA Offshore, began construction last year.