Qatar's shipowner Milaha has managed to get through the dire offshore markets via its solid tanker earnings. This widespread fleet sees no offshore pick up for at least the next two years.

"With current oil prices showing no signs of an imminent recovery, oil majors are likely to continue to control E&P spending carefully," says the firm's CEO Abdulrahman Essa Al-Mannai.
"We do not believe demand for offshore supply vessels is likely to increase substantially in the next two years. Besides, there is still a significant supply overhang to deal with."

In this environment, Al-Mannai thinks that 2016 and 2017 will be years of consolidation for the industry with new alliances and partnerships whose main purpose is maintaining positive cash flows.

Milaha currently owns and operates almost 90 vessels ranging from tug boats and offshore support vessels to container vessels and product tankers. It also has varying stakes in four VLGCs and seven LNG carriers.