| Work Detail |
Japanese marine contractor Penta-Ocean Construction is set to expand its offshore wind fleet with a newbuild cable laying vessel (CLV) contracted at Kuok Maritime Group’s PaxOcean.
The CLV, designed by Norway’s Salt Ship Design, will feature two 5,000t cable carousels and an SMD trencher and work class ROV, with a total investment of about $241m, of which some $205m for the hull.
Penta-Ocean said the unit has been designed for work on both bottom-fixed and floating offshore wind projects as well as direct current power transmission cable-laying.
The vessel is scheduled to be completed by February 2028. It will be jointly owned by Penta-Ocean and Fuyo General Lease, while the trencher and the ROV, together with fellow marine engineering firm Kojimagumi, will also be in charge of the operational management of the vessel.
PaxOcean has already built one wind turbine installation vessel for Penta-Ocean. It was delivered to the company in September 2023.
Japan is targeting 10 GW of offshore wind capacity approved by 2030, with at least 5.7 GW online and between 30 and 45 GW by 2040 as part of its target to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. Development is currently focused on bottom-fixed offshore wind in the port areas, with full-scale construction, including floating wind, expected to start in the years to come.
Penta-Ocean, which has two wind turbine installation vessels and one joint venture unit with DEME, has also moved to expand in this segment with another heavylift newbuild at Singapore shipyard group Seatrium. The company said Tuesday its board had approved the investment, which, together with the CLV newbuilding project, will amount to about $522m. |
