The growth of the offshore wind industry, bringing in increased investment in new wind farms that will feature bigger components installed farther from shore, is set to spur the demand for specialist vessels, says Clarksons Research , a provider of global shipping and offshore market intelligence.
These include larger installation vessels that will be able to handle massive components and next-generation offshore accommodation, for which the demand has already picked up the pace with the industry utilizing walk-to-work as well as service operation vessels (SOVs).
Taking into account the size of components of future wind farms that will be installed in deeper waters, aside from wind turbine installation vessels, the industry might see purpose-built vessels for the installation of foundations, according to Damen’s Business Development Manager Offshore Wind, Peter Robert.
Watch the entire interview with Peter Robert HERE .
With the growing offshore wind sector and need for walk-to-work vessels, Marcel Roelofs, General Manager of Chevalier Floatels, said that currently there is competition from companies working in the oil and gas industry due to the market’s downturn, but this will no longer be an issue once the market recuperates, and future offshore wind industry will have a strong need for this kind of vessels.
Watch the entire interview with Marcel Roelofs HERE .
The interviews took place at the first Offshore WIND Expertise Hub , set up during the Offshore Energy Exhibition and Conference 2016 in Amsterdam, with an aim to put spotlight on companies and people working in the sector.