Fred Olsen Ocean and and Teekay Offshore have formed a joint venture that will develop a new vessel design targeted at the offshore wind sector.
The deal will bring a wind sector application to the Teekay spinoff's HiLoad technology, which uses a dynamic positioning unit to connect ships to offshore installations.
"We see great potential in developing a vessel that fills the gap between crew transfer vessels and service operations vessels in the offshore wind space,” said Fred Olsen Windcarrier vice president John Andersen, who will lead the initiative.
New York-listed Teekay Offshore purchased a HiLoad unit from developer Remora in 2012. The self-propelled vessel allows tankers of up to VLCC size to connect to offshore production units without the use of tugs or anchor handling vessels.
Sevan Marine, in which Teekay is the largest shareholder, has also set up a subsidiary to use HiLoad technology in the LNG sector.
"We are excited about the idea of combining our existing HiLoad maritime technology with Fred Olsen Ocean's strong operational experience within the renewable energy sector, a market that we both see promising future potentials in," said Tor Olav Oie, the head of strategic development in Teekay's office in Stavanger, Norway.
Fred Olsen Ocean, whose windfarm shipowning subsidiary controls two jack-up installation vessels and eight crew transfer vessels, is a subsidiary of the Anette Olsen-led Bonheur group, which includes TradeWinds parent NHST Media Group.
