National Oilwell Varco (NOV) said that it was awarded a contract to design and build equipment for one of the world's largest offshore wind turbine installation vessels. Financial details were not disclosed.
According to a press release, NOV, through its subsidiary GustoMSC, landed the contract from Japanese engineering and construction firm Shimizu Corp. to design and build a ship that will be used to install turbines for a 9 GW wind farm off the coast of Japan.
The 28,000-ton ship will be constructed at the Japan Marine United shipyard in Yokohama, where it will be designed to accommodate 130 people and include a crane that can move cargo up to 2,500 tons. The vessel is scheduled to be delivered in 2022.
“National Oilwell Varco continues to innovate new and more efficient ways to bring wind energy to the offshore,” stated Clay Williams, National Oilwell Varco’s Chairman and CEO.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with Shimizu and JMU to develop the largest purpose-built wind turbine installation vessel ever constructed. NOV is proud to be the leading supplier of offshore wind power installation equipment at work around the globe and will continue to tailor solutions that meet the evolving needs of this growing market,” he added.
Planning is underway in Japan for a total of 9GW of offshore wind farm generation capacity using a new generation of larger, more economically efficient, ultra-large-scale wind turbines of 9 to 12 MW in size.