Alliance to build ships for deep offshore

GLOBAL: A new generation of installation vessels for deep-water offshore wind farms is being developed after the world's largest installation contractor A2Sea signed a memorandum of understanding with ship operator Teekay Corporation last week.

by Paul Garrett 5 July 2011

Teekay Corporation will own and operate the first vessels produced with A2Sea

The alliance, formed on 30 June, will aim to design, deliver and operate vessels that can cope with new concept foundations such as tripods and jackets.

A2Sea said that current "second-generation" installation vessels were restricted by factors such as water depth and seabed conditions.

It said that floating installation vessels would enable pre-assembled foundations to be carried straight out to site, so driving down the cost of foundation installation and reducing installation time.

Teekay, which has a fleet of 150 vessels and transports more than 10% of the word's seaborne oil, will own and operate the first of the new vessels while A2Sea, which is owned by Dong Energy and Siemens Wind Power, will provide project-management and operational expertise.