The platform employment market is served by operators, contractors and management companies. Knowing which organisations are active and how they hire is more useful than sending applications broadly.
FPSO Operators and Managers
SBM Offshore is one of the largest FPSO operators globally. Dutch-controlled, with FPSOs deployed in deepwater Brazil, West Africa and other locations. Their marine departments recruit directly and through manning agencies. A significant employer of maritime officers in the FPSO sector.
BW Offshore operates FPSOs across multiple regions. Norwegian roots, global operation. Both direct and agency recruitment channels are used.
MODEC is a Japanese-controlled FPSO operator and builder with significant deepwater Brazil and West Africa exposure. Recruits marine departments through specific crewing partners in key markets.
Yinson is a Malaysian FPSO company that has grown substantially. Active in West Africa, Brazil and Southeast Asia. Becoming an increasingly significant FPSO employer.
Altera Infrastructure, which operates under Teekay origins, manages shuttle tankers alongside FPSOs. Crewing through their own operations and partner agencies.
Drilling Contractors
Transocean is the largest offshore drilling contractor globally. Operates semi-submersible rigs and drillships. Has its own marine department crewing structure and recruits DP officers and marine crew through specific channels.
Valaris is another large drilling contractor with a global fleet of jackups, semi-submersibles and drillships. Marine department recruitment runs through their crewing operations.
Diamond Offshore and Noble, which merged with Pacific Drilling, are significant operators in the deepwater drilling sector. Both employ maritime crew in their marine departments.
Fixed Platform Operators
Fixed platforms employ offshore workers rather than maritime crew for most positions. The major operators of UK and Norwegian fixed platform infrastructure include Equinor, Shell, BP, TotalEnergies and Ithaca Energy in the UK sector.
These companies primarily hire platform workers through direct applications and specialist offshore employment agencies rather than through maritime manning agencies.
Offshore Management Companies
Bilfinger, Petrofac, Wood and Subsea 7 provide operations, maintenance and engineering services to platform operators. They employ large workforces across multiple installations and recruit continuously.
For maritime officers targeting FPSO marine department roles specifically, the vessel operators and managers listed above are the primary target. For offshore workers across the broader platform workforce, the major operators and service contractors all have ongoing recruitment.
How to Approach Them
Direct applications work for most of these companies. Career pages on company websites are functional and applications are processed. Response times vary but major operators generally acknowledge applications.
Manning agencies with offshore or FPSO specialisation are the more efficient route for maritime positions. The agencies with established relationships with SBM, BW Offshore, MODEC and the drilling contractors get the advance notice of positions that direct applicants do not.
LinkedIn remains useful for maritime offshore recruitment in the same way it works in the wider sector. Crewing managers and marine superintendents at offshore operators are findable and specific outreach produces responses more reliably than generic applications into career portals.