Norwegian shipowner Siem Offshore has urged the oil and gas support vessel sector to join forces or forget profits any time soon.

The Kristian Siem-owned company believes there is a "desperate need" for consolidation to combat a downturn that started in 2015 and has been exacerbated this year by Covid-19 restrictions and oil price falls.

Chief financial officer Dagfinn Lie told the Pareto Securities’ Energy Conference in Oslo on Thursday that charter rates are not high enough to service debt.