Norwegian owner of subsea vessels Forland has signed agreements with OSM Offshore (OSM) in Arendal, to outsource the technical management of its two vessels “Fugro Saltire” and “Lewek Inspector”.

The technical management of the vessels will in practice be taken over by OSM during the next couple of months, Forland said in Oslo Stock Exchange notice. OSM already provides the crew to the vessels.

Forland’s managing director, Bjørn Kristian Jæger, said: “Being a small shipping company operating in a very challenging market, we have to minimalize our operational cost, at the same time as we sustain the traditionally high performance of our vessels. After years with OSM responsible for crew management of our vessels, we are convinced that the present outsourcing of technical management will be the right answer to this situation.

“Furthermore, this decision also enables us to focus more on strategy, business development and marketing, which we believe will be mandatory for any company’s success in future. Among others, OSM will also be one of our important resource partners in this sector.”

The MV Fugro Saltire was built in 2008 and is under a long-term contract with Fugro Subsea Services.

The Lewek Inspector is a 110-meter inspection, maintenance and repair (IMR) vessel built in 2013 and under a long-term contract with EMAS CHIYODA Subsea.