Fletcher Shipping is a Uk based shipping company set up by the former management of SBS after the purchase of that company by Viking Supply. Their press release at the time suggested that Keith Fletcher who had been the driving force behind SBS was to remain as General Manager, but obviously he moved on to pastures new taking his management team with him. They all started in OIL and the colour scheme of SBS reflects that association.

OIL, then SBS and now Fletcher Shipping have tried to attract staff by telling people that the operation of their ships is wholly managed by the staff on board. This proposal probably attracts people who are fed up with shore management apparently cocking up what seems to be a good job. In my experience of this sort of an operation the shore staff seemed to want to hand over to the ship bits of the job which I would have been perfectly happy if they had continued to do ashore, and in return seemed to want to micro-manage bits of the job which I regarded as mine as a shipmaster - but I'm sure Fletcher Shipping do a lot better than this.

At the time of writing (January 2010) the company operates two platform ships. And at the time of the 2013 review there had been no further changes to the fleet.

At the 2014 review the company has added two platform ships to the fleet, both middle aged UT 705s and they have two UT 755s on order from Simek in Norway for delivery at the end of 2014 or early 2015.

In August 2015 Fletcher Shipping went into administration, a casualty of the plummeting oil price and the resulting reduction in offshore activity in the North Sea. But good news for some, except for the company creditors, a rescue operation resulted in the assets being taken over by FS Shipping with support from finance house. The one ship on order and about to be delivered has been purchased by Edison Chouest.

Updated: 12th November 2015.