Danish offshore wind installation firm Cadeler has placed a $400 million order to COSCO Heavy Industries for the construction of its third A-class wind farm installation vessel, capable of transporting and installing seven complete 15 MW turbine sets per one loading.
This will be the 11th vessel in Cadeler’s fleet, ordered ready to meet the growing offshore wind market demand.
The third A-class vessel – Wind Apex – will feature the hybrid design, enabling it to convert from being a foundation installation unit to a wind turbine generator installation vessel within a short period of time.
Cadeler already has two P-class, two M-class and two A-class vessels under construction. This third A-class vessel set to be delivered in the first half of 2027, will be built by COSCO Heavy Industries in Qidong, China, to design standards that will permit it to sail under the Danish flag.
The contract price for the delivery of this third A-class is approximately $400 million.
The third A-class vessel will be built on similar specifications to the first two A-class vessel, with a deck space of 5,600m2, a payload of more than 17,000 tons and a main crane capacity to be disclosed at a later date.
The A-class vessels will be able to transport and install seven complete 15 MW turbine sets per load or six sets of 2XL monopile foundations, cutting down the number of transits needed for each project.
In line 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. The P- and A-class vessels are built in close cooperation with Cadeler’s strategic partners, which include GustoMSC NOV, Kongsberg, Huismann and MAN Energy.
“The decision to build a third A-class vessel is based on the strong market demand for assets specialising in installing foundations. We have already signed firm contracts and entered a long-term agreement with Orsted for our first A-class vessel from 2027 to 2030 and we are in advanced contract negotiations to secure capacity from our second A-class,” said Mikkel Gleerup, CEO of Cadeler.