The fleet utilisation rate in the fourth quarter of 2018 was 63 per cent (Q4 2017: 36.1 per cent), up from 48 per cent in the third quarter of 2018 and at its highest since Q3 2015. The fleet utilisation for the year was 47.3 per cent (2017: 38.4 per cent).
The improved utilisation for the quarter was mainly driven by a full quarter of operation for Safe Scandinavia and a 2/3 quarter of operation for Safe Concordia.
Safe Scandinavia has been operating at Aker BP’s Ula platform on the Norwegian Continental Shelf since 1 September 2018, and was in full operation throughout the quarter. The contract has a duration of seven months with eight one-month options.
Safe Caledonia completed its operations for BP at the Clair Ridge platform in the UK on 22 November 2018 and is now laid-up at Scapa Flow in the UK. She is scheduled to commence work for a major oil and gas operator in the UK sector from mid-April 2019 with a firm duration of four months and up to two months of options.
On 24 December 2018, Safe Caledonia was awarded an 80-day contract in the UK sector of the North Sea commencing June 2020 with 30 days of options. She will be providing accommodation services in support of a platform turnaround and Prosafe has pre-agreed optionality with the client to substitute the Safe Caledonia with another vessel in its fleet if it so choses.
Safe Notos has been operating on a three-year and 222-day contract for Petrobras in Brazil since 7 December 2016 and was fully contracted in the quarter.
Safe Boreas continued the contract with Equinor at the Mariner installation in the UK and was in full operation throughout the quarter. The contract has a firm period through June 2019 with additional six one-month options.
Safe Zephyrus commenced a 12-month contract for Equinor at Johan Sverdrup in Norway in early May 2018 and was in operation throughout the quarter. On 11 October 2018, Safe Zephyrus was awarded a contract by BP to provide gangway connected operations at the Clair Ridge platform West of Shetland in the UK sector of the North Sea. The duration of the contract is five months with a one-month option, and is scheduled to commence mid-May 2019 directly following the completion of the Johan Sverdrup contract.
Safe Concordia mobilised from Curacao to Brazil and was on standby from 5 October 2018, before officially starting a contract for MODEC on 24 October 2018. It is still under discussion with the client if Prosafe will receive standby rate during the period from 5 October to 23 October, and thus the standby period has not been included in Q4 utilisation. The firm period of the contract is 200 days.
Regalia was idle in the quarter and is currently laid up in Norway. On 24 December 2018, Regalia was chartered for a 60-day contract in the UK sector of the North Sea commencing June 2019 with 30 days of options. Regalia will be reactivated to perform gangway connected DP operations. The reactivation period will commence within Q1 2019 and include her five yearly special periodic survey in line with classification society requirements.
Safe Bristolia was idle in the quarter and is currently laid-up in Norway. Safe Astoria was sold for scrap on 9 November 2018.
The company has incurred non-recurring costs in the quarter of ca. USD 2.5 million.
Prosafe is a leading owner and operator of semi-submersible accommodation vessels. The company is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange with ticker code PRS. For more information, please refer to www.prosafe.com
Stavanger, 16 January 2019
Prosafe SE
For further information, please contact:
Jesper K. Andresen, CEO
Phone: +47 51 65 24 30 / +47 907 65 155
Stig Harry Christiansen, Deputy CEO and CFO
Phone: +47 51 64 25 17 / +47 478 07 813
This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.