Van Oord and NYK are teaming up to jointly own and operate offshore wind installation vessels under the Japanese flag. With the collaboration, the companies want to leverage Van Oord’s expertise in offshore wind and NYK’s knowledge of the Japanese market.

In a statement, the companies say the vessels will be used for the transport and installation of both the foundations and wind turbines for offshore wind farms. NYK and Van Oord are also exploring opportunities to collaborate on other types of vessels required for the construction and operation of offshore wind farms.

At this point, it’s not clear if the companies will jointly order new vessels or if Van Oord will reflag some of its existing installation vessels. NYK is one of the largest shipping companies in the world, but its 708-vessel fleet consists mainly of bulk carriers (401), car carriers (118), tankers (85) and container vessels (63). The group also operates a fleet of 43 geared multipurpose vessels but none of them are classified as turbine installation vessels.

Japanese market

With the partnership, Van Oord wants to benefit from the growing offshore wind market in Japan. In April last year, Tokyo enforced a new law that aims to facilitate the development of offshore wind projects in Japan and as a result, demand within the offshore wind market is expected to increase.

However, Japan is still very new to offshore wind and there is a lack of resources like experienced workers and specialised equipment. As one of the leading European offshore contractors, Van Oord can fill that gap. The Dutch contractor has been involved in over 40 offshore wind projects in Europe, where the offshore wind industry is already well developed.