Seaway 7 and Sumitomo Electric Industries have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to support the development of offshore wind projects in Japan and the wider Asia-Pacific region.
The collaboration will focus on providing robust, competitive, and localised turnkey engineering, procurement, installation and commissioning (EPIC) solutions for submarine cable projects.
Sumitomo Electric will contribute its knowledge of the regional market and accumulated experience in the design and manufacturing of submarine cables.
Meanwhile, Seaway 7 will provide its state-of-the-art installation services with an extensive track record of completed submarine cable system projects for offshore renewables, oil and gas, and utility markets globally.
The Japanese and Asian offshore wind market is expected to grow substantially in the next decades, based on a mixture of both bottom-fixed and floating offshore wind projects, and has already attracted a significant number of local and international offshore wind developers, Seaway 7 said.
This collaboration will enable the pair to provide a unique service to meet the need for a one-stop-shop EPIC submarine cable solution for the regional offshore wind market, the marine contractor added.
Seaway 7 chief executive officer Stuart Fitzgerald said: “The intended partnership with Sumitomo Electric builds on our existing long-term business relationship and is aimed at introducing our combined expertise and capabilities into the emerging offshore wind market in Japan and the wider Asia-Pacific region, which is in high demand for competitive and reliable solutions.”
Sumitomo Electric managing executive officer Yasuyuki Shibata said: “We are delighted to form this strategic collaboration with Seaway 7 to jointly contribute towards the decarbonisation of the regions for decades to come.”