Page 13: of Offshore Engineer Magazine (Jul/Aug 2020)

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MARKET REPORT Transport & Installation

A DIFFICULT MARKET – The pace at which turbine technology has moved, however,

BUT NEWBUILDS NONETHELESS raises questions for the installation ?eet. According to data

The global heavy lift vessel market is a dif?cult place to be, from ConstructionVesselBase, excluding the Chinese market, but it is also a contradictory one. Contractors have scrabbled and excluding vessels which are primarily used for substation to secure work within three sectors – ?eld development, installation, just over 20 vessels are currently involved in the decommissioning and offshore wind – and utilization is a installation of foundations and turbines. Nearly all of these struggle. Yet, last year saw orders for ?ve heavy-lift units being vessels are less than 10 years old. Yet, the fact that nine of placed, and this year has so far seen a further two orders being these vessels have lift capacities between 800 to 1,000 tonnes placed, as well as Boskalis starting work on a former drillship suggests that without signi?cant upgrades, within a few short to convert it into Bokalift 2. years, they could face relegation from wind installation work

In total, of the 12 heavy-lift vessels currently under con- to maintenance work – or be forced into other markets. struction, seven are destined for the offshore wind market. Since 2018, utilization for this particular ?eet has hovered at

One of the main market drivers has been the rise of the off- around 50%, and already it has become apparent that the small- shore wind market in the Asia Paci?c with two of these vessels er units are being overlooked in favor of those with larger deck being directed at the burgeoning Japanese wind sector, and spaces and cranes. Whilst the market drivers for the offshore with two directed at the Taiwanese market. The increasing size wind installation ?eet are obvious, the debris left in the wake and scale of offshore wind foundations and turbines – with of the recent glut of newbuilds could create further oversupply ?rst orders for 12 MW and 15 MW models already secured – within oil and gas, decommissioning, and the wind maintenance has also been a signi?cant factor. market, in a vessel segment which is already clearly struggling.

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JULY/AUGUST 2020 OFFSHORE ENGINEER 13