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Maersk to lose 20 vessels

New builds to be flagged to Island registry

Maersk Supply Service has announced plans to divest up to 20 vessels and cut down its workforce by 400 offshore jobs.

Changes will be implemented over the coming 18 months according to a report on the Offshore Post website.

The divestment plan comes as a response to factors including vessels in lay-up and  global oversupply in terms of offshore supply vessels.

The first ten vessels are expected to exit the fleet by the end of this year, but four of the company’s “Stingray” new-builds will be flagged to the Isle of Man registry.

Following the reduction of the fleet and the flagging of existing project vessels – “Stingray” and five other vessels – to the Isle of Man registry, the company expects to have to make approximately 400 crew members redundant.

The lay-off process will cover all nationalities and should be finalised by the end of September.

Maersk Supply Service owns more than 60 vessels designed to work on a wide range of offshore support tasks.

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