Arendal-Spirit

Petrobras has not been making charter payments to Teekay Offshore Partners since November 2016 for the "Arendal Spirit" that has been experiencing operational problems. News of the suspension emerged on Feb 23, 2017, from Bermuda-headquartered and NYSE-listed Teekay’s financial results for the quarter and year ended Dec 31, 2016. The marine energy services company’s report acknowledges that results for the fourth quarter of 2016 were impacted by an operational incident relating to the "Arendal Spirit", which, together with a gangway incident in the spring of 2016, triggered an operational review by the charterer. Teekay has completed an investigation to identify the cause of the incidents and has taken steps to correct the problems but was still discussing with Petrobras when it could bring the unit back into operation.

Arendal Spirit, the first of Teekay’s so-called ‘Unit for Safety and Maintenance’ (UMS) accommodation vessels, is en route to Brazil aboard a COSCO heavy lift vessel. The vessel features contains 500 beds in 248 cabins with en-suite bathrooms, daylight windows, television, internet and telephone connections, lounge areas, coffee shop, television and game room, fitness room, dining room, office areas, meeting/conference room and cinema. Its design is base on Sevan Marine’s unique cylindrical hull design, providing several advantages compared to traditional accommodation vessels including high uptime, excellent motion characteristics (less seasickness), more deck space, better stability, and more storage space. Arendal Spirit is expected to arrive in Brazil by the end of April to start a 3-year charter contract with Petrobras, with extensions. It is the first of three UMS vessels to be built by COSCO in China. The vessels were originally ordered by Logitel Offshore Holdings, which Teekay acquired in July 2014. Report with video on http://gcaptain.com/teekays-first-unit-maintenance-safety-vessel-en-route-brazil/