Siemens Gamesa concludes charter agreement for NYK crew transfer vessel

Japan’s NYK Group has concluded a time charter contract to provide Siemens Gamesa with a crew transfer vessel (CTV) for the offshore wind power generation facility at Ishikari Bay New Port, which is scheduled to begin commercial operation in December

The NYK CTV will be owned by NYK and managed by Hokkaido-based Hokuyo Kaiun Co., Ltd., an NYK Group company specializing in tugs and port operations.

The Ishikari Bay New Port offshore wind farm project is being developed by Green Power Ishikari LLC, a special purpose company (SPC) established by Green Power Investment Corporation. It plans to construct, operate, and maintain 14 units of SG 8.0-167 DD offshore wind turbines manufactured by Siemens Gamesa, in a sea area of approximately 500 hectares.

NYK says the Japanese market for CTVs is expected to grow to over 100 vessels in about 20 years, starting around 2026, when the construction of offshore wind power generation facilities in Japan is expected to begin in earnest.

This will be the first CTV operation inside Japan by the NYK Group, which aims to use it as a foothold for further expansion into the offshore wind power generation business, which is expected to grow in the future.

Beyond releasing a rendering of the vessel, NYK has said little about the design or specifications of the CTV, other than that it will be “an aluminum catamaran of about 20 to 40 meters in length that is built for high-speed operation and comes equipped with stability equipment to transport technicians and crews safely and comfortably to and from sites during offshore wind power construction, maintenance, and operation of offshore wind farms.”