KUALA LUMPUR: PETRA PERDANA BHD [] has secured a total of RM73 million worth of new charter contracts for three mid-size anchor handling tug supply (AHTS) vessels.
Petra Perdana said that in the first contract, a 12,000 BHP AHTS was on a six-month charter from May 1 for deployment in Labuan, while in the second contract another 12,000 BHP AHTS was an 18-month charter from May 7 to work from its Kemaman base.
Each of the charters can be extended for a period of up to two months, it said.
Petra Perdana said it had also secured a one-year charter renewal for a 10,800 BHP AHTS vessel that was currently supporting Petronas Carigali operations.
The new contract is effective from June 23, 2011, it said.
In a statement Wednesday, May 11, Petra Perdana managing director Shamsul Saad said the company had received many charter enquiries over the last two months.
'The new charters are a confirmation the demand recovery is well in progress, especially in our segment of medium-size AHTS.
'The utilisation rate of our newbuilds has been improving, albeit gradually, to more than 80% now from less than 60% at the beginning of the year,' he said.
Shamsul said that at the core of Petra Perdana's offshore support fleet were the 10,000-12,000 BHP AHTS that were capable of operating in the deeper waters of the region and work boats and word barges that can accommodate up to 300 workers at a time.
The company's current fleet includes 16 newbuilds from its fleet renewal programme that began in 2007 and due for completion in the third quarter with the arrival of a work barge, he said.
Last year the company took delivery of seven vessels, the most in a year, amid an unprecedented downturn in the upstream sector of the oil and gas industry, he said.
The cost of fitting out and mobilising the vessels, despite a total absence of new charter demand, took a heavy toll on the company's cash flow and bottom line, he said.
'We really felt the financial strain.
'Now that the utilisation rate is improving and without those one-off fit-out and mobilisation costs, we are rather upbeat about our ability to turn around this year,' he said.
Petra Perdana said that in the first contract, a 12,000 BHP AHTS was on a six-month charter from May 1 for deployment in Labuan, while in the second contract another 12,000 BHP AHTS was an 18-month charter from May 7 to work from its Kemaman base.
Each of the charters can be extended for a period of up to two months, it said.
Petra Perdana said it had also secured a one-year charter renewal for a 10,800 BHP AHTS vessel that was currently supporting Petronas Carigali operations.
The new contract is effective from June 23, 2011, it said.
In a statement Wednesday, May 11, Petra Perdana managing director Shamsul Saad said the company had received many charter enquiries over the last two months.
'The new charters are a confirmation the demand recovery is well in progress, especially in our segment of medium-size AHTS.
'The utilisation rate of our newbuilds has been improving, albeit gradually, to more than 80% now from less than 60% at the beginning of the year,' he said.
Shamsul said that at the core of Petra Perdana's offshore support fleet were the 10,000-12,000 BHP AHTS that were capable of operating in the deeper waters of the region and work boats and word barges that can accommodate up to 300 workers at a time.
The company's current fleet includes 16 newbuilds from its fleet renewal programme that began in 2007 and due for completion in the third quarter with the arrival of a work barge, he said.
Last year the company took delivery of seven vessels, the most in a year, amid an unprecedented downturn in the upstream sector of the oil and gas industry, he said.
The cost of fitting out and mobilising the vessels, despite a total absence of new charter demand, took a heavy toll on the company's cash flow and bottom line, he said.
'We really felt the financial strain.
'Now that the utilisation rate is improving and without those one-off fit-out and mobilisation costs, we are rather upbeat about our ability to turn around this year,' he said.
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