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Floating wind ‘a tremendous opportunity’ for hard-hit anchor handlers
Shipbroker Fearnley Offshore Supply has reiterated the belief expressed elsewhere in the offshore support vessel (OSV) sector that the floating wind industry could create significant work for anchor-handling tug/supply (AHTS) vessels
In a review of developments in the OSV market in 2021, the broker said the offshore wind market has had a growing effect on demand in the market as a whole. It described demand pull for AHTS vessels from the floating wind market as “a particularly exciting future prospect.”
It went on to say, “So far there have only been a few projects, but the ones that have been commissioned saw considerable capacities and vessel days required.” It said the floating wind market “could translate into a tremendous new market opportunity for longsuffering high-end anchor handlers.”
As previously highlighted by OWJ, the floating wind market is set to become a new driver for under-utilised AHTS vessels in the 2024/25 timeframe, when commercial-scale projects get going.
The offshore oil and gas sector has long been the exclusive driver for AHTS vessels, but demand for these expensive assets plunged in 2014 when the oil price fell and has so failed to make a significant recovery. That the floating wind market is quickly evolving from small-scale demonstration projects to large-scale commercial projects is evidenced by the large number of projects offered option agreements in Scotland’s ScotWind auction in January 2022.
In the floating wind segment, anchor handlers will be required to preinstall moorings and anchors, tow floating foundations, hook up floating foundations to moorings, install dynamic cables, carry out inspection and maintenance and assist during decommissioning operations.
As also reported by OWJ, analysis by Maritime Strategies International suggests that demand for anchor handlers in the floating wind market will pick up significantly in the mid-2020s as huge projects get underway in countries such as South Korea. This will improve AHTS utilisation and, combined with demand in the offshore oil and gas industry, will drive up rates.
Fearnley said the offshore wind market as a whole provided a welcome source of utilisation for OSVs in 2021. It believes the rapidly growing market will require significant numbers of purpose-built vessels and tonnage from offshore oil and gas sector.
“Nowhere was this truer in 2021 than in China,” said the broker, “where developers scrambled to meet the year-end deadline for the feed-in tariff subsidy scheme. We are also encouraged by near-term growth projections in both Europe and elsewhere.
“China was just one of several countries where we registered an increasing number of vessels built for the offshore oil and gas market employed by offshore renewables contractors.”
Fearnley also noted that the number and scale of offshore wind projects expected to be built in the coming years increased several times in 2021, so much so that analysts expressed concerns about supply chains and rising material costs.
“Vessel demand generated by offshore wind was a key feature of the market in 2021,” the broker concluded. “Many players find themselves operating in both industries, and growing vessel demand in the offshore wind market certainly contributed to a tightening in the supply of subsea vessels in 2021.
“Many subsea shipowners reported that they were ‘sold out’ and some even said they were unable to respond to outstanding requirements because of the number of vessels that had already been contracted. This, in turn, shifts the power balance in contractual negotiations, and as a result moved average day rates upwards and made for lengthier firm periods for vessels.”
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