France’s Bourbon has moved quickly to expand its offshore fleet， adding 13 vessels since the start of the year in a push worth more than $180m.

The offshore vessel owner said the expansion has been driven by targeted acquisitions， reactivation and a newbuild delivery， as it looks to capture improving demand across key offshore markets.

Ten of the vessels are already under contract， underlining what the company described as a rapid return to active deployment following a restructuring phase completed in 2025.

The bulk of the additions comes from acquisitions. Bourbon has taken over six diesel-electric vessels from China’s Minsheng Group， including five platform supply vessels (PSVs) and one 80-ton bollard pull anchor handling tug supply (AHTS) unit.

The company has also picked up two larger PSVs from ICBC， adding Bourbon Front and Bourbon Clear to its fleet. These vessels sit alongside the Bourbon Calm， an X-Bow PSV acquired in late 2025， giving the group a more standardised series of modern tonnage.

The focus on familiar vessel types is aimed at easing integration and allowing for faster deployment across ongoing offshore projects.

“In just a few months， we have expanded our fleet， secured significant investments， and quickly returned vessels to service for our customers，” chief executive Gaël Bodénès said.

Alongside acquisitions， Bourbon has brought two laid-up AHTS vessels back into service， highlighting a parallel strategy of reactivating existing assets to meet demand without waiting for newbuild deliveries.

On the newbuilding side， the group has taken delivery of the Bourbon Evolution 810， the latest unit in its Evolution 800 series. The vessel， built for deepwater subsea work and inspection， maintenance and repair (IMR) operations， was delivered in Singapore and is due to start a long-term contract in South Asia in the second quarter.

Bourbon has also begun deploying smaller tonnage， with two 27-m crew boats delivered in Congo at the end of 2025， now working under a five-year contract.

Chief financial officer François Sordet said the company’s balance sheet has stabilised following last year’s restructuring， with debt levels reduced and capacity restored to support further growth.