Singapore offshore vessel player and shipyard Marco Polo Marine is pressing ahead with plans to meet the rising demand for support vessels required to service the offshore wind farm industry in Asia.
The company said that it will build, own and operate a specialised offshore wind commissioning service operation vessel (CSOV) by the first quarter of 2024.
The 83-m long vessel, co-developed by Marco Polo Marine and compatriot Seatech, will be the first CSOV to be designed in Asia and equipped with hybrid battery-based energy storage systems that will reduce carbon emissions by up to 15% to 20%. It will also be designed as future-ready, catering to methanol fuel.
Construction of the vessel, currently valued at about $60m, will be funded by the group’s existing resources and loans, Marco Polo said.
Marco Polo unveiled new designs for wind farm service vessels in March this year and said it has since received keen interest from offshore wind turbine makers and offshore windfarm developers.
“We observed that the industry continues to grapple with a CSOV shortage globally and charter rates continue to surge as well as the need to combat climate change. It is a giant leap forward for the offshore maritime industry and we are optimistic about the ability to meet the rising demand for this vessel type with the deployment of its own CSOV in 1Q 2024 tentatively,” stated Sean Lee, CEO of Marco Polo Marine, adding that new announcements will follow once the company has secured charter contracts for the vessel.
Singapore players are increasingly joining the offshore wind arena as the demand for specialised vessels continues to grow. Earlier this month, infrastructure investment manager Seraya Partners launched a pure-play offshore wind farm vessel player Cyan with the aim of investing $1bn into the business over the next three years.
