Tight Supply Drives Surge in High-End AHTS Dayrates

April 23 (OE) With one year since the last AHTS report, we have now started to see the effects of a tightening supply-demand balance as earlier predicted, which has translated into a significant uptick in the North Sea spot market especially.

The total global AHTS fleet totals just south of 1,700 vessels, of which roughly – 250 units still remains cold stacked. Around one quarter of the total fleet are predominantly low spec-vessels operating in the Middle East, followed by Southeast Asia with approximately 21%.

Focusing on larger units above 200t BP, the global fleet consists of less than 10% of the total fleet with roughly 150 units in this category. Roughly one third of these units are in South America, particularly Brazil, while close to 20% are stationed in the North Sea.

Age-wise, more than 60% of this fleet is 15 years or older, with no vessels in this category in the current orderbook. However, there is a tender in Brazil for building AHTS tonnage with WROV against a long-term contract. As a result of the reduction in the supply side seen in recent years, and an increasing demand in several key regions, upward pressure on dayrates has now been evident in the North Sea spot market, as well as long-term contracts in Brazil and Australia.  

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