Damen Wants You to Convert Your Laid-Up Platform Supply Vessels

Damen Live Fish Carrier 2000. Photo credit: Damen Shipyards

With the increasing number of laid up platform supply vessels due the downturn in the offshore oil and gas industry, Dutch shipbuilder Damen Shipyards says it has come up with several feasible ideas to convert idle vessels to serve roles in other industry sectors.

It’s no surprise that the dramatic collapse in the price of crude since mid-2014 has sent shock waves throughout the offshore oil and gas industry, forcing oil companies to cut investments, halt exploration projects and reduce production. This, not surprisingly, has led to a substantial drop in support vessel day rates and a record number of laid up offshore vessels from the North Sea to the Gulf of Mexico and beyond.

Damen now says it has solutions to get PSVs active and profitable once again, utilizing its experience and world-wide network of repair and conversion yards to convert idle-vessels to serve alternative sectors such as aquaculture, shipping and defense.

“Our design teams have come up with workable ideas across several industries,” says Damen Sales Manager Remko Hottentot. “For example, we can convert a laid up PSV into a profitable Container Feeder or, for naval operations, a Logistic Support Vessel. The possibilities are numerous. It will also be possible to transform a PSV into an accommodation and O&M vessel.”

One example of an already developed proposal is the Damen Live Fish Carrier 8916 for the aquaculture industry. “Here, the concept of using the existing PSV platform is ideal, yielding many advantages for live fish carrying situations,” says Hottentot.

In addition to permanent conversion concepts, Damen says it can also create temporary designs which can be applied to vessels originally built by Damen or other shipbuilders.

“We can offer significant design and conversion expertise to owners and operators looking for effective solutions,” Hottentot says. “In combination with reliable financing support, this makes up a unique combination of activities that can be translated into realistic conversion packages.”

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