Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has inked a time charter contract with Shimizu Corporation for two crew transfer vessels (CTVs) for work on the offshore wind farm at Ishikari Bay New Port.
MOL said on Thursday that this was the company’s first entry into the CTV business. Also, one of the CTVs – the MOL-owned Kazehaya – is the first CTV in Japan managed and operated under the International Safety Management Code, the international standard of ship safety management certified by ClassNK.
MOL Group company MOL Coastal Shipping will operate the CTVs, which will support the construction and operation of the project, transporting workers to and from the offshore wind farm. The vessels are slated to begin service later this month.
As for the wind farm, it is being developed by a special purpose company called Green Power Ishikari, established in February 2016 by Green Power Investment Corporation. The offshore wind farm will have 14 units of 8MW wind turbines manufactured by Siemens Gamesa.
The Japanese government has declared its target of achieving carbon neutrality, which means zero overall GHG emissions by 2050. Offshore wind power is positioned as an important future source of electricity, and construction of offshore wind power facilities is expected to begin in earnest around 2026.
MOL will use this offshore wind project to increase CTV operation knowledge and contribute to the wider development and use of offshore wind power generation and renewable energy in general, both in line with the company’s environmental vision.
The group also said on Thursday that MOL’s American subsidiary, MOL Clean Energy, invested in Ascension Clean Energy (ACE), a proposed clean hydrogen-ammonia production and export facility in Ascension Parish, Louisiana.
