Maersk Supply Wins Key Order For Wind Turbine Installation Vessel

Empire Offshore Wind has placed an order with Maersk Supply Service for a new-build wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV) which the company has been designing since 2019. Offshore wind turbine calls upon a lot of the learnings, and resources used for offshore oil drilling, one reason why oil firms prefer to invest in this option to reduce their carbon footprint.

Maersk informs that the vessel will be built by Singapore based SembCorp Marine. The construction will start in the fourth quarter of 2022 and by the end of 2025 it will be delivered in the United States. Maersk also says that NOV will provide the jacking units, load transfer system, and crane in the vessel. It will also be Maersk’s first dedicated offshore wind vessel.

The vessel is being sought for the work on the Empire Wind I and II offshore wind power projects. The vessel will be required to install Vestas V236-15MW wind turbines. With a swept area exceeding 43,000 square meters, the V236-15MW turbines moves the boundaries of wind energy production to around 80 GWh/year which is enough to power around 20,000 households and displace more than 38,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

The wind turbine components will be transported from the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal to the Empire Wind lease area that lies southeast of Long Island, New York. For this, Maersk Supply Service has partnered with Kirby Offshore Wind to serve with two new build tugs and feeder barges for the wind project.

Kirby Offshore Wind is a subsidiary of Houston based Kirby Corporation which operates offshore barges and towing vessels. It says that the tugs and feeder barges will cost between $80 million and $100 million.

Trond Gulichsen, Project Director for Empire Wind, said, “The Maersk concept will ensure efficient installation of the Empire Wind turbines by using a dock-in feeder solution, which will improve safety by reducing the number of offshore lifts.”

“We are pleased that Maersk is also exploring the opportunity of using climate neutral fuels to operate the wind installation vessel,” Gulichsen added.

Steen Karstensen, Chief Executive Officer of Maersk Supply Service, said, “In signing this contract with Equinor and BP, we are ready to invest in Maersk Supply Service’s first wind installation vessel and firmly establish Maersk Supply Service as an offshore wind contractor.”

“Offshore wind continues to play an increasingly important role for Maersk Supply Service—both floating wind and bottom-fixed. With our legacy of complex project management and operations in harsh waters, Maersk Supply Service’s background and capabilities are well-matched to the offshore wind industry,” said Karstensen.