Van Oord has signed a memorandum of understanding with Japanese shipping company NYK outlining their joint ownership and operation of a Japan-flagged offshore wind installation vessel.
The partners said they aim to start operating a jack-up vessel in Japan by 2022 at the earliest.
The vessel will have a crane capacity of more than 1000 tonnes and will be suitable to install the latest generation of wind turbines.
The collaboration will make use of Van Oord’s ‘technical and operational expertise’ in offshore wind and NYK’s knowledge of the Japanese market.
The vessels will be used for the transport and installation of both foundations and turbines for offshore wind farms.
The installation vessel is equipped with a large crane and jack-up legs. The vessel will place the legs into the seabed and will then jack the hull of the vessel out of the water.
This creates a stable working platform for the crane to perform the installation activities.
NYK and Van Oord said they are also exploring opportunities to collaborate on other types of vessels required for the construction and operation of offshore wind farms.
NYK operates more than 700 vessels, both internationally and locally. The group has experience in reflagging vessels to and operating vessels under the Japanese flag, a requirement for offshore wind contractors when working in Japanese territorial waters.
Meanwhile, NYK has signed a separate MoU with Swedish outfit Northern Offshore Group, owner of Northern Offshore Service, for a crew transfer vessel (CTV) business to serve offshore wind.
The two companies will start a joint study of a new CTV service to contribute to the success of offshore wind projects in Japan.
Northern Offshore Service, which operates over 35 CTVs in the offshore wind market in Europe, will discuss with NYK the optimized design, ownership, and operation of a CTV to provide crews with safe access to wind power generation facilities off Japan even when sea conditions are harsh.
In the future, the two companies will also discuss the possibility of collaborating in overseas businesses.