Marco Polo Marine is eyeing Japan as the next market to provide its offshore wind farm support services.
The company has signed a memorandum of understanding with "K" Line Wind Service that outlines their intent to explore suitable vessel opportunities in Japan.
Through the new entity, both parties seek to own and operate suitable offshore support vessels targeting customers in this sector.
Marco Polo Marine is already active in this market in Taiwan, following its acquisition of PKR Offshore.
KWS was set up in June 2021 as a joint venture between Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, better known as "L" Line, Kawasaki Kinkai Kisen Kaisha, for the purpose of providing marine related services for offshore wind power business.
“As Japan unlocks the potential of its offshore wind as a reliable source of energy, we believe the market can become a key revenue-driver for Marco Polo Marine," says the company's CEO Sean Lee.
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"With KWS as our strategic partner, we intend to pool together our expertise in vessel management and leverage on their deep knowledge of the Japanese market to support the pipeline of offshore wind projects in the region,” he adds.
Citing the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), Marco Polo Marine says that Japan has around 128 GW of fixed-bottom offshore wind potential and 424 GW of floating offshore wind potential.
To encourage development in the sector, the Japanese government has set a target of having10 GW of offshore wind by 2030 and 30-45 GW by 2040.
