Offshore services firm PACC Offshore Services Holdings (POSH) and mooring and marine service specialist First Marine Solutions (“FMS”) to explore growth opportunities for floating offshore wind in Europe.
The two companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding (“MoU”) to bring together their combined expertise to the market.
"Both POSH and FMS will work together on identifying, developing, and delivering on relevant joint tender opportunities. POSH, with assistance from FMS, will be responsible for the installation of offshore floating wind mooring systems, and FMS will be responsible for designing and subsequently supplying the offshore floating wind mooring systems as the technical authority," POSH said.
This MoU follows POSH’s January announcement that it will be focusing on the development of the fast-growing floating wind market.
Ulva Chai, Chief Operating Officer, POSH, said, “POSH continues our transformation to become a future-ready, sustainable solutions provider for the global energy sector.
"We are pleased to be working with First Marine Solutions to identify opportunities in this fast-growing sector. As specialists in offshore marine solutions, POSH will leverage on our relevant expertise and track record to offer integrated solutions for floating wind turbine projects. These services include planning & engineering, project logistics & management, pre-lay mooring, mobilization base management, towage and hook up, cable installation, operations & maintenance, and decommissioning.”
Steven Brown, Managing Director, FMS, said, “This agreement with POSH is the next step on our renewables strategy which began two years with the establishment of a dedicated offshore renewables business unit. FMS has designed, supplied and installed mooring systems worldwide for many years for a number of different applications and look forward to bringing our technical expertise, offshore experience, and technology to the ever-growing floating offshore wind market.”
POSH has cited Global Wind Energy Council's 2021 report, according to which offshore wind has the biggest growth potential of any renewable energy technology globally, and currently makes up just 2% of what the world needs to get to net zero by 2050.
Still, the report says, offshore wind is rapidly growing and is forecasted to grow by 235 GW of new installed capacity over the next decade, seven times more than its current size.
Also, when it announced a strategic shift in January, POSH, which has for years been mostly known for its offshore oil and gas services, said the move was in line with the latest trends where 16.5GW of floating wind installations are expected by 2030, with South Korea, Japan, Norway, France, and the UK likely to be the top five floating markets. Also, POSH said at the time, Asia’s slice of the pie is expected to more than double in that time, with an estimated 45% of global market share by 2030, POSH said.