Vestas Books Marco Polo’s New CSOV for Asia Pacific Offshore Wind Projects

December 15, 2022, by Adrijana Buljan

Marco Polo Marine’s Taiwan-based subsidiary, PKR Offshore, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Vestas Taiwan for the deployment of Marco Polo’s new commissioning service operations vessel (CSOV) on offshore wind projects in the Asia Pacific region.

The new CSOV will be deployed across offshore wind farms in Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea, over a 3-year period, based on a minimum utilisation commitment per annum, Marco Polo Marine said.

“With continued growth expected in Taiwan’s offshore wind market, we are delighted to establish this relationship with Marco Polo Marine and collaborate on this vessel newbuild development. We see Marco Polo Marine being well positioned in the Asia-Pacific region and look forward to strengthening our mutually beneficial working relationship in the coming years”, said Dennis Mordhorst, Regional Director at Vestas Taiwan.

The vessel is currently under construction at the company’s shipyard at Batam, Indonesia, and will commence operations towards the end of the first quarter of 2024.

In September, Marco Polo Marine unveiled its plans to build, own and operate a CSOV to meet the rising demand for support vessels from the offshore wind farm industry in Asia. The 83-metre long vessel will be the first CSOV to be designed in Asia, according to its owner.

The CSOV will be equipped with a walk-to-work gangway and a 3D motion-compensated crane, and will also feature a hybrid-based energy storage systems that will reduce carbon emissions by up to 20 per cent.

According to information released this September, the vessel will also be designed as future-ready, catering to methanol fuel.

Marco Polo Marine acquired the entire share in PKR Offshore from PACC Offshore Services Holdings (POSH) earlier this year.

At the beginning of this month, the Singapore-based company entered the Japanese offshore wind market after signing an MoU with K Line Wind Service (KWS) to explore suitable vessel opportunities in Japan.