Three vessels will be chartered under the contract including two of MMA's purpose-built offtake support vessels - the Mermaid Sound and the Mermaid Strait - and a modern, high specification platform supply vessel, Mermaid Leeuwin.

The contract for the three vessels is for a firm period plus a number of options. If all options be exercised the total contract value would be some $110 million.

"The significance of the contract in the current competitive market cannot be overstated," MMA managing director Jeff Weber said.

"There is enormous pressure on the offshore marine industry to achieve sustainable cost positions without compromising quality operations.

"The award of this contract is an endorsement of our ability to support world class operators in this challenging economic time and to provide cost effective solutions."

MMA has a long-standing relationship with Woodside, and the latest contract was some sorely needed good news for MMA, which said the first four months of trading were lower than expected with market conditions unlikely to improve through 2016.

The company is forecasting before tax earnings of $75-85 million, but says it has a low level of visibility of demand for the second half of the financial year, particularly once its contracts with Chevron Corporation at Gorgon, for the accommodation vessel Silja Europa, and Technip at Wheatstone come to an end by January next year.

Weber said there is pressure for service companies to cut their rates in a significantly competitive market, and while the company has had some success, overall utilisation for the first quarter was 52% for the international fleet and 61% for the Australian fleet.

Demand for slipway services was well below expectations due to fewer offshore vessels in Australia and clients reducing costs.

The company is continuing to seek to sell assets to reduce its debt, and has sold $22 million worth of vessels to date.

"MMA has a young and well maintained fleet which is attractive to other operators seeking specific vessels," Weber said, noting interest has picked up in recent times.

MMA has two vessels cold stacked and six vessels warm stacked at facilities in Indonesia and Singapore.