Cadeler has signed a contract with COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry for the construction of two new X-class wind turbine installation vessels, with the total order amounting to USD 651 million (around EUR 548 million).
According to the vessel owner, who announced the decision to build the new X-class vessels this April, the vessels will be the largest in the industry upon completion.
Each vessel will be able to transport and install seven complete 15 MW turbine sets per load, or five sets of 20+ MW turbines. They will have a deck space of 5,600m 2 , a payload of over 17,600 tonnes and main crane capacity of above 2,000 tons at 53 metres.
The construction of both X-class vessels will start immediately at COSCO’s shipyard in Qidong and will take around three years for the vessels to be completed.
The first newbuild will be ready for service by the third quarter of 2024 and has already been commissioned by Siemens Gamesa. The second one is scheduled to be delivered in the first quarter of 2025.
Cadeler said its first X-class vessel would be used for the transport and installation of 100 Siemens Gamesa 14 MW wind turbines at the Sofia offshore wind farm in the UK, owned by RWE. The turbines are expected to be the largest in the world at the time of installation.