Norway’s Solstad Offshore made another 300 workers redundant on Friday in a bid to help the company survive the weak demand for offshore support vessels.
Around 150 of the dismissed workers will be from Scandinavia, mainly Norwegians, the company’s vice-president Sven Stakkestad told press.
Around 75 Brazilian workers will lose their jobs, as will around the same number of Filipino seafarers.
The Karmøy-based shipping company’s supply business in the North Sea and Brazil have been most heavily affected by depressed oil prices. Brent crude is currently trading at around $44.29 per barrel, at the time of writing.
The downsizing process will continue until the end of the year, Stakkestad said, adding that the downsizing is necessary to enable the company to make it through the downturn.
Another 10 Solstad vessels are at risk of being laid up, according to press reports.
Solstad made around 50 offshore employees redundant in May, when it sold two old anchor handing tug supply (AHTS) vessels and laid up two platform support vessels (PSVs).
