Cadeler has awarded Cosco Shipping Heavy Industry the contract to build two new X-class wind turbine installation vessels.
The total order amounts to $651m (€547m) and the new vessels will, upon completion, be the largest in the industry, according to Cadeler.
The first X-class vessel will be ready by Q3/2024 and has already been chartered for its first project by Siemens Gamesa.
It will be used at one of the largest offshore windfarms in the world – the 1.4GW “Sofia” offshore wind power park in the North Sea, owned by RWE.
For this project Cadeler will assist Siemens Gamesa with the transport and installation of one hundred 14MW wind turbines.
The project will be located on Dogger Bank 195 km from the nearest point on the UK’s North East coast.
The 14MW turbines are expected be the largest wind turbines in the world at the time of installation.
The addition of two new vessels will double the size of the current Cadeler fleet.
Cadeler chief executive Mikkel Gleerup said: “Expansion of our fleet is an important strategic priority to ensure that we can meet the demand we are seeing from clients for greater installation capacity.
“By providing energy efficient vessels with very advanced technical specifications and climate-friendly features, we are proud to be taking this step to meet the current and future demand of the industry.
“Offshore wind plays an increasingly important role in the green energy transition, and the installed offshore wind capacity is expected to grow substantially the coming years across several regions.
“We are well-positioned to play a role in cost-competitive offshore wind power production by providing efficiency gains for turbine manufacturers and windfarm owners.”
The new X-class vessels are designed to operate at some of the most difficult sites around the globe and with the most advanced equipment in the industry.
Upon completion of the two new builds, Cadeler will have the largest fleet in the industry in terms of loading capacity and ability to transport, service and install the next generation offshore wind turbines.
Gleerup added: “We are pleased to have finalized our negotiations with Cosco and to deliver on this important milestone for Cadeler within Q2/2021 as planned.
“Cosco were chosen due to their extensive expertise, reliability, and high standards in building complex windfarm installation vessels.
“Cosco showed from the beginning that they actively wanted to partner up with Cadeler for the delivery of our new X-class vessels and this commitment became even more clear when we decided to purchase two identical units in one order.
“Both vessels represent the future of our business and will be state-of-the-art in all aspects, definitely setting new industry standards.”
Cosco Shipping chairman Liang Yanfeng added: “We are very pleased to have reached an agreement with Cadeler to partner up in this exciting project, and we are very confident about Cadeler’s prospects in the offshore wind market.
“Building the two new wind turbine installation vessels for Cadeler is a commitment that we take on us with great pride.
“Throughout the process we are committed to delivering vessels that will meet the high standards set by Cadeler’s clients and the Cadeler organization.”
New vessel already contracted for the installation of the world’s largest offshore wind turbines
The construction of both X-class vessels will start immediately at Cosco’s shipyard in Qidong.