Noble Corporation’s recent decision to sell the Pacific Meltem and Pacific Scirocco for non-drilling purposes highlights a key issue in the drillship market: What happens to cold-stacked rigs that are unlikely to return to work? With the floater market showing signs of weakness and contract opportunities becoming scarcer, reactivating these units is proving even more challenging.
The Estonian navy detained and boarded a Russia-bound oil tanker on an EU sanctions list on Friday, accusing it of sailing illegally without a valid country flag.The vessel, the Kiwala, has been under EU sanctions since February as part of Russia's so-called "shadow fleet", a term Western countries use for ships they say Moscow deploys to circumvent international sanctions.