Dong Fang Offshore (DFO) has been awarded a charter for a newbuild Taiwan-flagged Commisioning Service Operation Vessel (CSOV) by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) for the 500MW Fengmiao 1 project in Taiwan.
The CSOV has already been ordered and will be delivered in the first quarter of 2027 from the shipyard, flying the flag of Taiwan.
The award has been the result of a successful collaboration between CIP and DFO on both the Changfang & Xidao and Zhongneng projects, the latter said.
The new vessel will be permanently based in the APAC region, adding to the pool of capable vessels, and alleviating the global vessel shortage, according to DFO.
Once delivered, the new CSOV will create job opportunities for highly-skilled Taiwanese crew and professionals ashore to deliver high quality operations, it added.
The commitment ensures that Fengmiao I project will have a fit-for-purpose vessel to support operations, de-risking the project delivery, DFO said.
The CSOV shall be capable of support foundation installation, cable installation, turbine and balance of plant O&M, it added.
Polin Chen, chief executive of DFO said: “CIP was the inaugural charterer of the first Taiwanese construction support vessel, the Orient Constructor, and this new award of CSOV charter demonstrates the long-term investment and support that CIP has made into suppliers like DFO to develop us from a small local vessel supplier into an organisation that can deliver large scopes to international standards.
“We look forward to delivering the vessel and working hand in hand with CIP to de-risk the project during the operational phase, helping deliver competitive green energy to Taiwanese households, while ensuring that the long-term logistics and access to CIP’s offshore wind farms stays within the control of genuinely Taiwanese companies.”
Marina Hsu, CIP regional managing director, said: “We have always understood the pivotal role Fengmiao I project is playing for laying a corner stone for the entire Round 3 developent in Taiwan.
“We’ve been shouldering the weight of establishing a well-functioning, competative local supply chain since Round 2, and we will keep doing so in Round 3, as it is extremely essential for Taiwan to achieve sustianble built-out and operaion of offshore wind projects which ensures the competetivness of the country’s economy.”