Japan to get first offshore wind module carrier as Mitusi orders electric vessel

A shipping subsidiary of Japan’s Mitsui group has signed a contract with China's Taizhou Sanfu Ship Engineering for the construction of an electric propulsion module carrier for Japanese offshore wind projects.

Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) announced today (Monday) that its group company MOL Drybulk has ordered a vessel of the transport of offshore wind components, and also inked a second contract relating to the supply and transport of Japanese monopiles.

The new vessel is scheduled to be launched in 2026 and will be used to carry out the transport of turbine foundations to offshore wind farm sites in Japan.

The announcement also highlighted the role that Japan’s JFE Engineering will play in supplying monopiles for such projects, after the company inaugurated its own production base at Kasaoka-shi, Okayama Prefecture, earlier this month.

MOL said it had also signed has signed a basic contract for marine transport with JFE Engineering Corporation.

The dynamically-positioned module carrier, which can load components such as monopiles, towers, blades, nacelles and floating foundations from either stern or sides, will join a growing fleet of specialist offshore wind vessels to be seen in Japanese waters.

It features an electric propulsion system, with batteries onboard.

MOL stated: “As Japan's offshore wind power generation progresses, demand for wind turbine components in domestic transport is expected to increase in a variety of scenarios."

'Busiest year'

Marine intelligence firm Spinergie last week noted that offshore wind in East Asia is experiencing its busiest year ever with heavy-lift vessels on-site at five bottom-fixed offshore wind projects across the Taiwanese, Japanese, and South Korean markets.

In Japan, Spinergie reported, that Japan’s Penta-Ocean Construction Company has now deployed three heavy lift assets for the Kitakyushu Port wind farm, including the recently delivered WTIV CP-16001, jack-up CP-8001, and heavy-lift vessel CP-5001.

The research note also mentioned that the wind turbine installation vessel Hyundai Frontier is installing foundations at South Korea’s Jeonnam 1 wind farm after completing its maiden campaign of installing turbines at Jeju Hallim.

Spinergie also reported that Eunsung O&C's jack-up Sirius is performing maintenance on the South West Offshore 1 array in South Korea.

In Taiwan, a total of six vessels were reported active, including four on the Yunlin wind farm, one on the Hai Long arrays and one on the Changfang-Xidao wind farm.