Equinor Keeps Rescue Vessel Havila Troll on Charter Until November 2027

Equinor Energy has exercised a one-year option on Havila Shipping's rescue and recovery vessel Havila Troll, keeping the ship on charter to the Norwegian energy major until November 2027.

Two further one-year options remain, which would carry the vessel's employment through to November 2029 if both are taken. Financial terms have not been disclosed.

Havila Troll is a 92 m UT 527-design vessel built in 2003 and configured for standby duty at offshore installations. That means emergency response and man-overboard recovery, oil-spill preparedness, firefighting capability and rescue services, rather than the cargo runs that occupy most of the offshore vessel fleet on the Norwegian continental shelf.

The rescue and recovery role is what makes this contract structure normal in the segment. A standby vessel is tied to a specific field or cluster of installations and to a regulatory requirement to have that capability continuously on station, so charters run long, roll forward through annual options, and change hands infrequently.

For Havila Shipping the ship is a single-unit category. The Norwegian operator runs 12 vessels in total, comprising eight platform supply vessels, three subsea vessels and one rescue and recovery vessel, alongside a fleet history that also covers anchor handling tug supply work. That concentration makes Havila Troll's utilisation a meaningful line item rather than one hull among many.

The extension also lands in a market where the age of the Norwegian offshore fleet is a live commercial question. A 2003-built ship is well into its second decade of service, and the willingness of a charterer to option forward to 2029 on that hull says something about the replacement pipeline for standby tonnage, where newbuilding activity has been limited and the specification is highly specific to the role.

No further contract details were released, and the remaining options fall due annually.