Keyfield International Bhd group CEO Datuk Darren Kee was speaking at the handover ceremony of Keyfield Helm 1 geotechnical vessel to Helms Geomarine Sdn Bhd for a three-plus-two-year charter contract beginning this month. (Photo by Suhaimi Yusuf/The Edge)

KUALA LUMPUR (July 11): The daily charter rates (DCR) for offshore support vessels may increase further or stay at current elevated levels over the next two years, according to Keyfield International Bhd (KL:KEYFIELD).

There is still a shortage of suitable offshore support vessels, and no new vessels are expected to be delivered in the near future, Keyfield group chief executive officer Datuk Darren Kee told reporters at a press conference on Thursday.

“The market is expected to remain tight, so long as the offshore activities remain or pick up,” he said. “We can foresee that the demand will outweigh the supply, so we believe that the rates will continue to go up.”

Kee was speaking at the handover ceremony of Keyfield Helm 1 geotechnical vessel to Helms Geomarine Sdn Bhd for a three-plus-two-year charter contract beginning this month. The charter party agreement was signed in December 2023.

Keyfield Helm 1 will be utilised to primarily support Helms Geomarine, which recently secured a three-year geotechnical investigation contract from Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas). Additionally, the vessel will support Helms Geomarine’s long-term contracts with other oil majors in Malaysia and Thailand.

Shares of Keyfield have been surging, tracking strong gains of peers in the energy sector, on the back of strong oil prices. Bursa Malaysia Energy Index, which tracks 22 stocks in the sector, have climbed more than 20% since the year began.

Oil prices have remained robust amid global geopolitical concerns. Brent, the global benchmark for crude oil, has risen 10% so far this year to about US$85 per barrel on Thursday.