Spot rates for anchor handling tug supply (AHTS) vessels on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) have seen a sharp drop this week ­— by about 50% overnight and 70% over four days — but offshore brokers describe the fall as a standard feature of the volatile North Sea and not a major market shift.

Ever-lower oil prices, cost cutting, project delays and high-profile reductions in budgets for exploration and production (E&P) among oil companies have all worked together to ratchet up uncertainty across the spectrum in the offshore sector this year.

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