Hellesøy Verft AS
Future proof
Located in the Norwegian village of Løfallstrand for the better part of 67 years, Hellesøy Verft has evolved greatly from its early days of manufacturing small, traditional wooden boats.
Focused throughout its existence on quality workmanship and being a lean, flexible organisation, the Hellesøy Verft of today is able to outfit a wide range of ship types up to 100 metres in length.
“In the last couple of years the company has been proceeding along the path it first laid out for itself back in 2007,” explains managing director Øystein Hellesøy. “It was at this time that Hellesøy 
Verft embarked on its supply vessel building programme to support customers operating in the offshore oil and gas sector. In the years since, the company has successfully completed the outfitting, construction and delivery of six such vessels, with the seventh expected to go into service at the start of 2013.”
The delivery of this latest vessel, the mark-three model of its VS485 series, will mark the next stage in the company’s development as its highly qualified designers and engineers endeavor to create ships that meet the very highest of standards and specifications as required in today’s market.
“The direction taken by the company, venturing into the offshore sector with these supply vessels has been very much a targeted one,” Øystein continues. “Together with Wärtsilä Ship Design, Hellesøy Verft is actively taking the experience already gleaned from its six vessels that are in service in order to make further improvements to future additions to its fleet. These new vessels will benefit from not only having a cleaner design, they will be much better equipped to answer the challenges the offshore market is sure to face.”
From its home near to the coast of Norway, providing direct access to the North Sea and the Barren Sea, the company finds itself right at the heart of a wave of activity that is contributing to the development of the next generation of offshore vessels, from PSVs to anchor handlers and construction units. While Hellesøy Verft is one of the smaller yards building such vessels, its long and distinguished history, and track record, has seen it build up a client portfolio that contains both small, family-owned fishing businesses and larger supply vessel owners and operators.
This ability to adapt in order to service the needs of different types of client is what Øystein believes to be one of Hellesøy Verft’s biggest strengths: “The key word that defines the success the company has had over the years is flexibility. While Norway is unquestionably one of the most important regions in the world for oil and gas operations, it does suffer from high cost levels. Coupled with the exceptionally high level of competition that exists in the market, there will surely be challenges still to come in the months and years ahead. Nevertheless, Hellesøy Verft possesses the capabilities and necessary skills to meet the requirements of not only small, bespoke projects, but also large, complicated undertakings.”
In August 2012, the company will once again make its presence felt at the ONS exhibition and conference in Stavanger. One of the world’s leading meeting places for the global energy industry, ONS has, for close to 40 years, been a broad-based international energy event, providing a unique meeting place for companies involved in the energy sector.
Originally welcoming approximately 7000 visitors to its first exhibition, ONS 2012 is expected to see more than 50,000 guests passing through its doors: “As has been the case in the past, Hellesøy Verft is very much looking forward to taking part in what it expects to be a very interesting, informative exhibition this year in Stavanger,” Øystein says. “Taking place in one of the focal areas of Europe’s offshore market, ONS always provides the perfect opportunity for companies and businesses to meet and exchange opinions and experiences. While all of these companies are obviously competing for business, each shares a common goal and that is to be best placed to meet the needs of future customers. That is what makes the platform that events like ONS provide so invaluable to companies like this one.”
As Øystein goes on to emphasise, the importance of industry gatherings such as ONS and the individual development of offshore companies could not come at a more imperative time: “With offshore activities in the North and Barren Seas entering an exciting new phase of development there is an ever greater demand for only vessels of the highest possible quality and performance to enter the marketplace. Norway, as a centre of offshore excellence, has earned quite the reputation for driving change and innovation. Therefore the world’s eyes will be firmly focused on the country and its ship builders to see how it responds to the demands of offshore customers over the coming decade.”
While the company remains committed to taking on smaller, specialised projects, particularly those linked to the fishing industry, the majority of its focus is firmly fixed on one particular market sector: “The bulk of Hellesøy Verft’s activities today relate to the offshore oil market and this is where it sees its future progressing with great optimism,” Øystein says. “Through the work of its highly-skilled, technically proficient designers and engineers, the company is excellently positioned to judge what its customers in this sector will want from the next generation of vessels and deliver those requirements. With this in mind it should come as no surprise that everyone here at Hellesøy Verft is ready and eager to welcome the challenges of tomorrow with open arms.”
Hellesøy Verft AS
Services: Ship outfitting