Island Offshore: Strategic Expansion and Innovation
Well prepared
“The global economic crisis hit the oil and gas market hard around September 2008 and this event brought the cost of oil down rapidly and saw a great many projects in the North Sea put on hold for an indefinite period of time,” explains Hallgeir Reitan, chartering manager of Island Offshore Management.
“Fortunately for Island Offshore Management, the company already had an extensive new building programme underway, centred around several long-term contracts. This allowed the company to work through these difficult times, with it to this day retaining a strong focus towards securing long-term projects with both existing and new clients in an effort to position itself accordingly for the next industry upturn.”
Established in 2004, Island Offshore Management is the management company within the Island Offshore Group. From its head office in Ulsteinvik, Norway, the company handles the group’s technical and marine operations and has spent the last seven years developing its management systems within the guidelines of Det Norske Veritas and is now certified by the Norwegian Maritime Directorate in accordance with the ISM-code. Today, the business employs roughly 900 full and part time employees. Furthermore it holds certificates according to ISO 9001 quality standards and ISO 14001 environmental standards.
The most recent development involving the company is the news that is has taken an order for five U7 717 CD design vessels from STX Brevik Offshore. Measuring 84 metres in length, these medium-sized supply vessels are expected to be put into service between the third quarter of 2013 and the first quarter of 2014 and take the total number of vessels in the company’s yard to nine.
As part of the company’s growth plans, Island Offshore Management has taken the bold step of placing orders for a further ten vessels that will be rolled out over the next two years. This move will substantially increase the company’s fleet size and bolster both its local and international efforts. In fact, in 2012 the company’s fleet will comprise of 27 vessels: “Growth in the short-term will primarily come from the North Sea, however it is well aware of the need to grow internationally. This is something that will occur naturally and over an extended period of time to ensure the company gets it right, but with its knowledge, expertise and experience working with particular vessels, Island Offshore Management presently has more opportunities ahead of it than it has had for some time,” Hallgeir continues.
The company is also very proud of the fact that it has its own course and competence centre in-house, which comprises of a sophisticated and advanced DP crane simulator that can simulate challenging situations for offshore training purposes. While this is not in competition with the Offshore Simulation Centre in Aalesund, it allows crew to train in exactly the same operations that Island Offshore is involved in, and with the same equipment.
In under a decade the company has grown from a small business into a complex, multi-faceted organisation, recognised as a leader in the field of advanced marine operations. With a strong focus on building quality, state-of-the-art vessels, Island Offshore Management strives to constantly provide its customers with added value, while also delivering the highest standards of comfort for all vessel users.
“One of the primary strengths of the company is that it provides the perfect example of what a young, dynamic organisation should be like,” Hallgeir says. “Island Offshore Management tries extremely hard to differentiate itself from the competition by aiming to be a leading provider of high quality industry solutions. The company is working to achieve this through a combination of its high-class services, its commitment to health, safety and the environment and its work with specialist vessels such as PSV’s and light well intervention vessels. Combined, this work has allowed the company to become experts when it comes to planning and executing the most advanced of projects, and this has led to a greater number of new clients seeking out Island Offshore Management to perform such tasks.”
With its vision for the future taking shape, Hallgeir goes on to pinpoint several avenues the company is pursuing: “Just one of many developments within the industry that Island Offshore Management will look to capitalise on will be the advancements and changes being made in the North Sea well stimulation market. A significant reduction in the age of the vessels being used here has been noticed with more and more being replaced by modernised units, making it an ideal market for the company to target seeing as it anticipates have as many as five new vessels in operation on long-term contracts here come 2013.
“By remaining active in its various market segments and by continuing its dedicated building of new, advanced vessels, Island Offshore Management can confidently look ahead to growing its business while remaining a leading provider of offshore services.”
Island Offshore Management
Services: Offshore services