Norwegian firm reflags whole fleet of owned vessels to Norway

Norwegian seismic company PGS has reflagged the entire fleet of owned vessels to Norway, a move said to have the global geopolitical situation as a driving factor.

The reflagging of the Ramform Tethys on December 5 marked the completion of the initiative to bring the entire PGS fleet of owned vessels under the Norwegian flag.

PGS announced its intention to reflag all active vessels to Norway in September last year, citing the global geopolitical situation as a driving factor. The reflagging journey commenced with Ramform Vanguard, registered with the Norwegian International Ship Register (NIS) in August 2021 before a project in the Black Sea.

Ramform Titan was registered in the NIS on September 20, 2022, and other active vessels in the fleet have followed suit.

PGS believes that sailing its active vessels under the Norwegian flag aligns with its strategic goals. The reflagging process was completed last week, achieving the stated ambition within the target date of the end of this year, the company said.

Rob Adams, EVP Operation at PGS, said: “PGS vessels are proud to sail under the Norwegian flag. We have good experiences with NIS, and as a Norwegian registered company, we appreciate our continuous constructive dialog with the Norwegian Maritime Directorate as the governmental authority for NIS flagged vessels.”

In September, PGS and TGS announced their agreement on principal terms to combine the two firms and create a strong full-service energy data company. It was reported earlier this month that PGS had made progress in the merger after shareholders of both companies gave their support.