This year’s huge global orderbook of 500 offshore support vessels (OSVs) has been casting a dark shadow over the oil-services industry.

The sector is already struggling mightily with oversupply, but what are all these newbuildings actually worth in today’s harsh downturn?

“Big data” says the answer is $6.8bn. But this is in terms of market value, not original yard prices, and only if willing sellers could actually find willing buyers to flip the ships after delivery.

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