Seatrium’s wholly owned subsidiary, Seatrium New Energy, and its consortium partner Aibel have filed for arbitration proceedings in connection with DolWin epsilon, the offshore converter platform of TenneT’s DolWin5 grid connection.
The arbitration was initiated under the consortium agreement and filed with the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce, Seatrium said on 22 January.
The dispute is about differences between the two partners under the consortium agreement signed in May 2019, which governs the design, engineering, procurement, construction, installation, and commissioning of the 900 MW offshore converter platform. According to Seatrium, under the agreement, the partners are to seek resolution of the disagreements through arbitration in order to have the matters determined by an independent tribunal.
Seatrium said the differences concern alleged breaches of obligations relating to direct scopes of work, as well as disagreements over the allocation of responsibilities and the distribution of costs and revenues linked to joint scope activities under the project. Both parties have asserted claims against each other under the consortium agreement.
In respect of direct scope work, Seatrium New Energy has made claims of around EUR 180 million against Aibel, while Aibel has made counterclaims of approximately EUR 113 million. Seatrium said that, based on preliminary advice, any valid claims relating to direct scopes are expected to be satisfied from the reserved consortium funds of about EUR 5 million and should not result in further financial exposure for the parties.
Aibel has also claimed around EUR 17 million in relation to matters it considers to fall within the joint scope of the project. Seatrium is contesting those claims and is seeking declarations through the arbitration to clarify the parties’ obligations and liabilities under the consortium agreement.
The DolWin epsilon platform was constructed at Seatrium’s Singapore yard and sailed from Singapore in October 2023 to Aibel’s facility in Haugesund, Norway, for further works.
The platform, which was installed at its site in the German North Sea in June last year, is 82 metres long, 73 metres wide, and 84 metres high. The topside and the substructure of the platform weigh 11,450 and 12,100 tonnes, respectively.
The DolWin5 grid connection was fully energised in October 2025.
Borkum Riffgrund 3, the 900 MW offshore wind farm, which is using the DolWin5 connection, fed first power into the German grid in December 2025. The offshore wind farm is planned to be fully commissioned in the first quarter of this year.