National Oilwell Varco Inc. said Sept. 3 it has been awarded equipment package and design orders for one of the world’s largest offshore wind turbine installation vessels by Japanese-based Shimizu Corp.

NOV, through its subsidiary GustoMSC, has worked closely with Shimizu on the customized jackup design which has a total tonnage of 28,000t and is capable of accommodating 130 people. The vessel will also incorporate a proprietary 2500t telescopic leg crane designed specifically for the offshore wind market to provide a unique combination of high elevation hoisting capability for turbine installation and heavy load capability for foundation installation. Japan Marine United shipyard will carry out the construction of the unit.

“National Oilwell Varco continues to innovate new and more efficient ways to bring wind energy to the offshore,” Clay Williams, National Oilwell Varco’s chairman and CEO, said. “We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with Shimizu and JMU to develop the largest purpose-built wind turbine installation vessel ever constructed. NOV is proud to be the leading supplier of offshore wind power installation equipment at work around the globe and will continue to tailor solutions that meet the evolving needs of this growing market.”

Planning is underway in Japan for a total of 9GW of offshore windfarm generation capacity using a new generation of larger, more economically efficient, ultra-large-scale wind turbines of 9 to 12 MW in size. Delivery of this vessel, which will be the largest and most-capable in the region, is expected in late 2022.

Offshore