Marco Polo Marine, on Sept 20, announced that it will build, own and operate a new commission service operation vessel (CSOV) to meet the rising demand for such support vessels to service the booming offshore windfarm industry in Asia.
The vessel, which is slated to be completed in the 1Q2024, will be the first CSOV to be designed in Asia.
The CSOV will measure 83m with a beam of 21m, and is based on the latest design which has been co-developed by Marco Polo Marine and Seatech Solutions International (S) Pte. Ltd. It will be used in commissioning works during construction of offshore wind farms, as well as their maintenance operations.
In its statement, Marco Polo Marine says it will fund the construction of the vessel with its existing resources and borrowings from financial institutions. While the value was not specified, a new CSOV is said to be is currently valued at about US$60 million ($84.5 million).
“In March this year, we unveiled new designs for wind farm service vessels, and have received keen interest from offshore wind turbine makers and offshore windfarm developers,” says Sean Lee, CEO of Marco Polo Marine.
“We observed that the industry continues to grapple with a CSOV shortage globally and charter rates continue to surge as well as the need to combat climate change. It is a giant leap forward for the offshore maritime industry and we are optimistic about the ability to meet the rising demand for this vessel type with the deployment of its own CSOV in 1Q2024 tentatively,” he adds. “We will be making the relevant announcements once we have secured charter contracts for the vessel.”
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Shares in Marco Polo Marine closed 0.1 cent higher or 2.63% up at 3.9 cents on Sept 20.
