Cadeler orders new $400m 'hybrid' as China churns out big offshore wind vessels
Group moves to expand fleet in response to looming installation bottlenecks, but Chinese yards are building even more for domestic customers.
Cadeler, owner of the world's largest fleet of jack-up wind turbine installation vessels, has placed an order for another new-generation model, leading contractors' efforts to keep pace with steeply rising demand from the sector.
With numerous industry reports alerting offshore wind developers and governments to a looming shortage of vessels — especially those able to cope with the increasing size and capacity of offshore wind turbines — newbuild orders are increasing.
The latest order will pave the way for an eleventh high-capacity WTIV vessel in Cadeler’s fleet.
Cadeler is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange and in New York following a merger with former rival Eneti, completed in December last year.
The hybrid A-class vessel can convert from being a foundation installation unit to a wind turbine installation vessel within a short period of time, Cadeler said.
Cadeler already has two P-class, two M-class and two A-class vessels under construction. This third A-class vessel is scheduled to be delivered in the first half 2027, Cadeler said.
It will be built by COSCO Heavy Industries in Qidong, China, to standards that will permit it to sail under the Danish flag, the Copenhagen-based comany added.
Mikkel Gleerup, CEO of Cadeler, said: “Cadeler owns the largest jack-up fleet in the industry and is well positioned to provide our partners with access to an even wider and more flexible fleet of next-generation offshore wind farm installation vessels.
"The decision to build a third A-class vessel is based on the strong market demand for assets specialising in installing foundations."
Gleerup said the company is in advanced contract negotiations to secure capacity from the second A-class unit.
Cadeler said it had been able to achieve a very competitive price for this third A-Class vessel due to "the strong collaboration that Cadeler has built with COSCO Heavy Industries, synergies from building several similarly designed jack-ups."
Cadeler secured the yard slot by negotiating a Letter of Intent for the vessel in 2022 and said today (Wednesday) that the contract price for the delivery of this third A-class is approximately $400m.
Cadeler says its A-class vessels will be able to transport and install seven complete 15MW turbine sets per load or six sets of 2XL monopile foundations, cutting down the number of transits needed for each project.
Along with the P-class vessels, the A-class will cater for some of the largest dimensions of wind turbine components in the offshore wind industry.
Chinese dash
Investment in heavy-lifting wind farm installation vessels for the Chinese market has been proceeding at an even faster rate, due to what some analysts see as a more unbridled dash to expand offshore wind capacity using bigger turbines.
In the latest example of this, China Merchants Heavy Industry launched a 2,000-tonne capacity jack up from its Haimen shipyard, in Nantong last week.
China currently has about 23 WTIVs operational, all capacities included, but this number is increasing, along with the specifications needed to accommodate next-generation turbines, agreed Shashi Barla, head of renewables research at Danish analyst Brinckmann.
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