Increasing its momentum in the offshore wind market, NOV has inked a contract to design and equip two wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV) newbuilds for Denmark-based Cadeler and Chinese giant COSCO SHIPPING Heavy Industry.

The built-for-purpose WTIV will be able to transport and install seven complete 15 MW turbine sets or five sets of more than 20 MW turbines, NOV said Aug. 24.

NOV also said the hybrid, DNV-certified, cyber-secure Cadeler X-Class WTIVs are designed with 5,600 sq m of deck space and a carrying capacity of more than 17,600 tons, said to be the largest in the industry. 

Under the terms of the contract, NOV, the parent company of the vessel designer GustoMSC, will supply two GustoMSC NG-20000X jack-up vessel designs, as well as the vessels’ jacking systems which will incorporate NOV’s regenerative power system technology that will provide fuel savings and emission reductions, according to the company.

Ordered in June for $651 million, the WTIV pair will be built in COSCO's shipyard in Qidong, China.

The first vessel, which has been contracted by Siemens Gamesa to transport and install 100 14MW wind turbines at RWE’s 1.4 GW Sofia wind park in the North Sea—one of the largest offshore windfarms in the world—is scheduled for delivery in the third quarter of 2024. The second X-class WTIV is planned to be fully ready and operational in the first quarter of 2025.

“NOV is honored to partner with Cadeler and COSCO as we design and deliver the next generation of wind turbine installation jack-up vessels,” said Clay Williams, chairman, president and CEO of NOV, in an official press release. “These vessels, which will be a key part of the next stage in the evolution of offshore wind energy, are a perfect example of what comes from close collaboration with our customers and an unending desire to seek improvement.”

In June, NOV agreed to provide floating and mooring systems for Green infrastructure developer Cerulean Winds for its integrated 200-turbine floating wind and hydrogen development off the coast of Scotland.

James West, senior managing director at Evercore ISI, noted in his analysis that NOV’s share of the new WTIV is about $125 million to $150 million each, which combined with the second crane order could lift offshore wind installation bookings north of $300 million for the third quarter of 2021.

Although no financial data was provided in the release, NOV has in the past talked about a revenue opportunity of about $80 million per vessel, and these awards lead to greater confidence in NOV’s target of $350 million to 400 million annualized revenue exiting 2022 from the fixed offshore wind installation market, Tudor Pickering Holt & Co. stated in its report.

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