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$2 billion a ship! Cimc Raffles will build the world's most advanced wind power installation ship
Cimc Raffles will build the world's most advanced new-generation wind turbine installation ship for the Norwegian company, costing up to 2 billion yuan per ship. In advance of the layout of wind power market, CIMC Raffles is welcoming the harvest season.
On November 23, Havfram (formerly Ocean Installer) announced that it had signed a letter of intent with CIMC Raffles, in partnership with institutional investors advised by JP Morgan Global Alternatives, Order a new generation of wind Turbine mounting vessels (WTIV). The ships will be built by Yantai CIMC Raffles and are scheduled to be delivered into operation in 2024.
Havfram's plan is to operate a number of vessels in the global offshore wind market, offering conventional jack-up wind turbine installation services, as well as a cost-effective feeder solution for the U.S. market. Although Havfram did not disclose further details, foreign media estimates that such a high-spec WTIV could cost more than $300 million per vessel.
Designed and created by an experienced offshore wind team, Havfram's WTIV works closely with GustoMSC as a ship designer and with leading offshore wind developers and turbine suppliers to improve installation efficiency. The design includes green technologies, as well as lessons learned from more than a decade of WTIV operations and offshore wind construction.
Havfram, formerly known as Ocean Installer, is a well-known offshore oil and gas service provider in Norway. In December 2020, Havfram announced its name change to reflect the company's growing focus on the offshore wind power market. Havfram wants to shift from traditional oil and gas to renewable energy, aiming to generate most of its revenue from the renewable energy market by 2025.
To this end, Havfram announced its plan to order WTIV in September and contacted several shipyards in the Far East. The new vessel is designed to support offshore wind projects on the EAST Coast of the United States with the GustoMSC upgrade design based on the NG20000. It will be able to install a new generation of wind turbines of over 20 MEGAwatts, while potentially running on zero-emission fuels. Havfram is also looking for similar vessels for the European market.
Last year Havfram formed a partnership with VARD, the Norwegian arm of European shipbuilding giant Fincantieri, to develop "one of the most advanced wind turbine installers in the world" for the offshore wind industry. At the time, VARD said the two companies would work together to develop the world's most advanced installation vessel capable of mounting more than 1,000 tons of wind turbine components at 150 meters above sea level, which is expected to be attractive for building large international wind farms in the coming years.
In September, Havfram also signed cooperation agreements with Germany's RWE and Norway's NTE to participate in the Norwegian government's offshore floating wind energy tender. The company is accelerating its activities in floating wind, working with a number of companies to develop offshore floating wind projects, including recently providing design and installation support for "an innovative new type of offshore floating wind turbine," with the next step for Havfram to install demonstration units offshore.
Havfram is also working on a tidal turbine pilot project offshore France and a number of projects in Norway at METCentre, a testing centre for new Marine renewable energy technologies, including floating wind.
Cimc Raffles is a leading contractor of Marine engineering equipment in China, committed to providing customers with innovative overall Marine solutions. As early as two years ago, CIMC Raffles started to deploy offshore wind power. Cimc Raffles has successfully transformed its business into offshore wind power. It has accumulated achievements in wind power equipment from fan base, booster station to offshore wind installation vessel, and is committed to providing customers with innovative offshore wind power solutions.
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