Russia’s Sovcomflot (SCF) has exercised its option for the redelivery for bareboat charter of the eight-streamer seismic survey vessel Vyacheslav Tikhonov, according to Dubai-based Polarcus.
Built as the Polarcus Selma in 2011, the Vyacheslav Tikhonov is an Ulstein SX133 design, arctic-capable, 3D seismic research vessel. It can deploy eight streamers each of 6,000 metres length, or six streamers each of 8,000 metres length.
When the Vyacheslav Tikhonov was delivered in 2011, Polarcus signed a five-year bareboat charterparty agreement with SCF.
Polarcus expects the seismic vessel to be redelivered towards the end of April, following the completion of the combined streamer and node project offshore Dubai.
Polarcus said in a statement that with evident signs of market improvement, the company is in dialogue with customers on various projects and will explore opportunities for the vessel over the summer season.
The seismic business has been on the upswing. With its high-end seismic vessel fleet, Polarcus posted some strong Q4 and full year 2018 revenue. Vessel utilisation for Q4 was 96% and 87% overall for 2018, up from 77% in 2017. Total revenue for 2018 was US$202.2M up 13% from 2017.
"Despite the decline in the oil price during the fourth quarter, demand for marine seismic services in 2018 increased by more than 20% year-on-year in terms of square kilometres,” said Polarcus chief executive Duncan Eley when the company’s 2018 earnings were released. He said the company's backlog at 31 December 2018 and value of awards announced after the year end is US$232M, representing a substantial increase compared to US$164M at the same time in 2017.
Going forward, Polarcus reports 100% utilisation for Q1 and Q2 for 2019.
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