Newly Converted Cable-Layer Arrives in Taichung Port Ahead of Work at Yunlin Offshore Wind Farm Site

March 29, 2024, by Adrijana Buljan

Orient Adventurer, formerly the construction and flex lay vessel Polar Onyx which has been converted into a cable-laying vessel (CLV), has arrived in Taiwan’s port of Taichung, from where it will soon sail out to the Yunlin offshore wind farm site.

The vessel will carry out cable-laying work on the Yunlin project under the partnership between Orient Adventurer‘s owner Dong Fang Offshore (DFO) and Seaway7, which signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on collaboration in the Taiwanese offshore wind market in February.

Orient Adventurer is also a product of the collaboration as its conversion involved using DFO’s vessel and Seaway7’s cable lay spread to create a dedicated cable-laying asset for Taiwan, according to Seaway7.

Dong Fang Offshore, a subsidiary of Hung Hua Construction, purchased Polar Onyx from GC Rieber Shipping in 2021 and said that the vessel would be converted into a cable-laying vessel, with the conversion expected to be completed by the end of 2023.

Seaway7 is in charge of the supply and installation of the export and inter-array grid cable systems at the 640 MW Yunlin wind farm under a contract signed in 2018.

At the Yunlin offshore wind farm, whose subsea cables are being delivered by the South Korean manufacturer LS Cable & System, the final export cable was laid in October 2023, according to information on Seaway7’s website.

In November last year, Skyborn Renewables, one of the project owners, said that the 2023 installation campaign on the Yunlin offshore wind farm was nearing completion, with 45 monopile foundations, 26 inner array grids, 12 export cables, and 34 wind turbines installed – and preparations for 2024 installation campaign underway.

Earlier this month, the company said the 2024 installation campaign was underway with the project team and Yunlin contractors are working at full pace to have all the monopile foundations, inter-array cables and wind turbines in place this year.

The 640 MW offshore wind farm will comprise 80 Siemens Gamesa 8 MW wind turbines and is expected to be completed this year.

The Yunlin project is owned by the Yunneng Wind Power consortium which comprises Skyborn Renewables (25 per cent), TotalEnergies (23 per cent), EGCO Group (25 per cent), and a Sojitz Corp-led consortium (27 per cent) which also includes Chugoku Electric Power, Chudenko Corporation, Shikoku Electric Power, and JXTG Nippon Oil & Energy Corporation.