Russian shipping company Sovcomflot (SCF) has performed a U-turn on a seismic survey vessel charter.

In March, Oslo-listed owner Polarcus said Sovcomflot had exercised an option to redeliver the 2,250-dwt Vyacheslav Tikhonov (built 2011) from a bareboat charter at the end of April.

A Polarcus subsidiary has since chartered the ship with the intention of it working as a source vessel on a wide-azimuth survey running into the fourth quarter.