Hanwha Ocean launches large offshore WTIV

South Korea's Hanwha Ocean Co. announced on Monday that it launched a large wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV), which it secured an order for from Denmark-based Cadeler A/S in 2021.

The newly launched WTIV is 148 meters long and 56 meters wide, capable of carrying five large offshore wind turbines of 15 megawatts each at a time. It can install turbines in waters up to 65 meters deep.

With global warming driving attention to renewable energy sources like offshore wind power, the demand for large offshore wind turbine installation vessels is steadily increasing.

According to WindEurope, an association promoting the use of wind power in Europe, the availability of WTIVs is expected to decrease due to the increasing size of wind turbines from 2027, leading to a significant surplus demand by around 2030.

Hanwha Ocean has delivered two WTIVs to date and is currently building two more.

Hanwha Ocean, which recently acquired Hanwha Corp.'s offshore wind power business and plant business, plans to offer total services for offshore wind power, including the construction, transportation, installation and maintenance of substructures and offshore substations, in addition to building WTIVs.

Hanwha Ocean recently acquired a stake in Dyna-Mac, a Singapore-based company specializing in the manufacturing of topside structures for floating production storage and offloading units (FPSOs).

Write to Hyung-Kyu Kim at khk@hankyung.com