Japanese shipping giant Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) and Swedish contractor to offshore wind industry Northern Offshore Service AB (NOS) have agreed to a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for a crew transfer vessel (CTV) business related to offshore wind power generation.
The two companies will start a joint study of a new CTV service to contribute to the success of offshore wind projects in Japan. NOS is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Swedish holding entity Northern Offshore Group AB (NOG).
On April 1, 2019, a new law intended to facilitate the development of offshore wind projects off Japan became effective, and demand within the offshore wind power generation market is expected to expand.
A CTV would fulfill the important role of transporting construction and maintenance crews to the offshore wind power plants. CTV is built for highspeed operation and comes equipped with stability equipment that allows crews to safely transfer to and from the offshore wind farms.
Utilizing the technical information and expertise of NOS, which operates over 35 CTVs in the offshore wind power market in Europe, along with the NYK Group’s knowledge of operating vessels in Japan, NOS and NYK will discuss the optimized design, ownership, and operation of a CTV that so that crews can have 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.
In accordance with the NYK Group’s medium-term management plan “Staying Ahead 2022 with Digitalization and Green,” the company has indicated its goal to integrate ESG principles into management strategies to implement green business initiatives.
In fact, NYK Bulk & Projects Carriers Ltd., an NYK Group company, has previously transported offshore wind power facilities on heavy-lift vessels. The Group will continue to be involved in a wide range of the supply chain and contribute to the development of offshore wind power projects.
Northern Offshore Group operates about 60 vessels in which most are CTV’s and has a complete set of onshore technical and commercial management services inhouse. The group is located in Gothenburg, Sweden and has offices in Hamburg, Copenhagen, Lowestoft and Conwy.