Offshore wind installation company Cadeler has ordered two new X-class wind turbine installation vessels from China's COSCO SHIPPING Heavy Industry.
The total order amounts to $651 million, so $325.5 million per vessel. According to Cadeler, the new vessels will, upon completion, be the largest in the industry. They will be built in COSCO's shipyard in Qidong, China.
"Cadeler is delighted to announce that negotiations with COSCO SHIPPING Heavy Industry Co. Ltd. have been finalized and a contract for construction of two new state-of-the-art wind turbine installation vessels has been signed after a thorough tender process," the company said.
The new X-class wind turbine installation vessels will, per load, be able to transport and install seven complete 15MW turbine sets or five sets of 20+ MW turbines, cutting down the number of trips needed for each project.
Mikkel Gleerup, CEO of Cadeler A/S says: "Expansion of our fleet is an important strategic priority to ensure that we can meet the demand we are seeing from clients for greater installation capacity."
"By providing energy-efficient vessels with very advanced technical specifications and climate-friendly features, we are proud to be taking this step to meet the current and future demand of the industry. Offshore wind plays an increasingly important role in the green energy transition, and the installed offshore wind capacity is expected to grow substantially in the coming years across several regions. We are well-positioned to play a role in cost-competitive offshore wind power production by providing efficiency gains for turbine manufacturers and wind farm owners."
The first X-class vessel will be delivered by Q3/2024 and has already been contracted by Siemens Gamesa to transport and install one hundred 14MW wind turbines at the Sofia Offshore Wind Farm in the North Sea.
The contract was announced in March 2021 – at the time without disclosing the project name. The second X-class vessel is planned to be fully ready and operational in Q1/2025.
"Upon completion of the two new X-class vessels, Cadeler will operate the largest fleet in the industry in terms of loading capacity and ability to transport, service and install the next generation offshore wind turbines. The new vessels represent state-of-the art technology in all aspects, including optimization of energy efficiency and minimization of emissions and environmental impact," Cadeler said.
The vessels will have a deck space of 5,600m², a payload of over 17.600 tons, and the main crane capacity of above 2.000 tons at 53 meters.
To reduce the impact on the environment, Cadeler as part of the tender criteria requested minimized emissions, minimized environmental impact, CO₂ accounting during the building process, minimized use of hazardous substances, a requirement for biodegradable grease and oil in instances with any risk of discharge to the environment, and that the vessels must be recyclable.