Fred. Olsen and Teekay Form Wind Vessel JV

Fred. Olsen Ocean and Teekay Offshore have entered into an agreement to develop a new vessel design for the offshore wind market.

The two companies are planning to co-develop a vessel that will allow technicians to access wind turbines in higher sea states at a lower cost. It is a first step to bringing Teekay’s HiLoad technology to offshore wind. 

The HiLoad Dynamic Positioning unit is a self-propelled dynamic positioning system that, for offshore loading, attaches to and keeps tankers in position when loading from offshore installations. As well as offshore loading, the technology has been adapted for mooring and station keeping applications. 

John B. Andersen, VP Business Development in Fred. Olsen Windcarrier (a Fred. Olsen Ocean company), will lead the initiative. “We are very excited to work with Teekay, and we see great potential in developing a vessel that fills the gap between crew transfer vessels and service operations vessels in the offshore wind space,” said Andersen.

Sea trials for new wind vessel are expected to start in the beginning of 2017.