Maersk Supply Service has been awarded the preferred supplier agreement to install turbines at BP and Equinor’s 1230MW Beacon Wind offshore project off the US east coast.
Installation is expected to start in 2028.
In March 2022, Maersk Supply Service ordered a newbuild Wind Installation Vessel (WIV), which will be used to install the 816MW Empire Wind, also owned by Equinor and BP.
This new agreement comes in direct continuation of the previously announced contract for Empire Wind, Maersk said.
Maersk Supply Service chief commercial officer Jonas Munch Agerskov said: “With this new agreement, we have secured a stable start for our new Wind Installation Vessel.
“We are very pleased that Equinor and bp have shown us the trust to extend the award and look forward to future collaboration.”
Designed in-house and patented by Maersk Supply Service, the WIV design works in conjunction with a new feeder methodology, and expected to be over 30% more efficient than conventional jack-up vessels.
Maersk said this is due both to the WIV’s unique feeder capabilities and to the fact that the WIV stays on location for the duration of the installation, while only the tugs and barges ferry to and from the coast.
This enables the WIV to be deployed solely for the purpose of the turbine installation.
It added that the solution is also less weather dependent, enabling installation to continue all year round.
Maersk Supply Service has partnered with Kirby Offshore Wind, a subsidiary of Kirby Corporation, who will construct and operate the feeder barges and tugs in the US, in compliance with the Jones Act.
Kirby Offshore Wind will support the Beacon Wind contract further by adding a third barge to the installation spread.