Page 13: of Offshore Engineer Magazine (Nov/Dec 2025)

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MARKETS SUBSEA VESSELS peak however, is that most of these vessels are being con- Sea1 Offshore, DOF, and Solstad Offshore are reporting structed in China as opposed to Norway. strong EBITDA margins, and these are expected to remain

Moreover, almost all of these newbuilds are ordered on a healthy due in the prevailing market environment. In fact, speculative basis and with few exceptions remain uncom- another point to note is that dividend distributions are ex- mitted at the time of writing. That having been said, the pected to increase among leading vessel owners, refecting market does not anticipate a collapse in dayrates. Instead, a strong cash fow. wider spread in achievable dayrates based on vessel age and In summary, it is diffcult to get around the impend- specifcation is likely to materialize to a signifcant degree ing infux of speculative newbuilds which will likely soften starting in 2026. the market balance and thus dayrates and utilization levels,

Even now, at the latter part of the year, the market has especially if demand does not keep pace. Additionally, we softened compared to last summer, with both fewer fx- note that project delays along with conservative behavior tures and somewhat downward pressure on dayrates, espe- from EPCs are also contributing to a potential near-term cially for less advanced or older vessels. Major contractors market softness. are also showing caution, focusing on improving margins However, a signifcant backlog and robust tender and aligning vessel intake with planned project activity. pipeline suggest a likely uptick in activity and vessel in-

The fact of the matter is that, even with growing demand take from 2026 to 2027. In conclusion therefore, while for subsea services, the supply side is currently growing short-term activity and dayrate expectations have soft- even faster. Despite this, however, long-term fundamentals ened, the long-term outlook for the subsea vessel market remain strong, with a continued shift toward deepwater remains robust, driven by deepwater projects and global and subsea infrastructure. energy infrastructure.

More to the point, market leading shipowners such as

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2025 OFFSHORE ENGINEER 13