Norway’s Kleven Returns to Shipbuilding Four Years After Bankruptcy
Norway’s Kleven shipyard (now known as Green Yard Kleven) reports it is returning to shipbuilding four years after its bankruptcy and sale to Green Yard, a Norwegian company focused on ship recycling, modifications, and lay-ups for ships and rigs. The company, which had a long history in shipbuilding including innovative offshore vessels, has been carrying out mostly retrofits since its bankruptcy in 2020 which came months after its sale to DIV Group, the owner of Croatian shipyard Brodosplit.
The company won an assignment from the Austrian-Romanian energy company OMV Petrom and its Neptun Deep project to build a Field Support Vessel. Along with Marin Teknikk who designed the vessel they highlight the order is not only for new construction but also for a unique vessel.
“Since taking over the shipyard in 2020, we have worked purposefully to establish ourselves in the new construction market with the right project for us, it is therefore very satisfying that we have now landed this contract,” said Hans Jørgen Fedog, CEO of Green Yard Kleven. “We are very pleased that OMV Petrom chose us for this contract. It has been an incredibly rewarding collaboration throughout and with great trust between the parties.”
Marin Teknikk explains the concept for the vessel started in 2006 with an original focus on the needs of the offshore wind sector. The concept was to develop a design that was both better and different from the OSV and CSOV that were then prevailing in the market. The design is both for the wind or offshore oil sector and they have been working with OMV for a year to customize the design to the unique needs of the oil and gas project.
The vessel will operate for the Neptun Deep project, which will be the largest natural gas field in the Romanian Black Sea area as well as Romanian’s first deepwater offshore project. OMV Petrom calls it a strategic site for the county noting that when it starts production in 2027 it will have an estimated total volume of around 100 billion cubic meters. It will position Romania as the largest gas producer in the European Union.
The Neptun Deep block in the Black Sea has an area of 7,500 square km and is located about 100 miles from shore. It is in an area with water depths ranging between approximately 300 feet to over 3,000 feet. Construction on the topsides for the unnamed platform is already underway. The total investment for Neptun Deep is estimated at up to €4 billion.
Green Yard Kleven's first newbuild contract is for a unique Field Service Vessel (Green Yard Kleven)
Marin Teknikk highlights since the vessel will be supporting operations at the unmanned platform all the technical and administrative personnel will be living on the vessel. They sought to improve the typical walk-to-work application to enable more operational days per year. The ship uses four azimuth propellers and special systems so that it will be able to stay connected with its walkway in wave height of up to an average of approximately 15 feet and a maximum of more than 25 feet without disconnecting.
The vessel will measure 295 feet (90 meters) with 90 cabins to accommodate 90 people. It will be able to store liquid cargo to be used by the rig in gas production and features a large aft deck for loading rigging equipment and containers.
The ship will have a large battery bank installed. It will also be equipped with tanks to use green methanol and biofuel in the future.
Green Yard Kleven reports the hull will be built by a subcontractor, Montex in Poland, and is expected to arrive in Norway at the start of 2026. The assignment begins immediately for Kleven and the ship is to be delivered in the second half of 2026.