Big-name owners are vying to win an Equinor tender to build and operate windfarm support ships.
Market sources told TradeWinds that as many as 18 companies could offer in for the work involving three or four new service operation vessels (SOVs) for long-term charter to Norway's state-owned energy company.
Bidding is due to open this month for what is a crucial and unique deal in a depressed market for traditional offshore shipowners.
Interested parties include wind power companies and offshore shipping names, as well as a big conventional merchant shipping outfit that had been sniffing around, looking to "make a big splash, at least before the pandemic hit", according to one market observer.
UK operator Bibby Marine, Norway's Solstad Offshore and Denmark's Esvagt have also been named as likely bidders.
Bidding is expected to close in August, with an award being made later in the year.
One offshore shipping source said: "Everyone will be bidding, basically."
Companies with experience of DP2 ships, gangways and floatels will have an advantage, it is thought.
"There's nothing else like this package out there at the moment," the source said.
Charter terms back to Equinor could be five, 10 or 15 years, but the energy company will determine this when the offers come in.
The tender margins are seen as being "marginal" for owners, with a "race to the bottom" expected.
These kinds of SOVs could cost between €40m and €50m ($56.5m), a source said.
An Equinor spokesman said it was not company policy to comment on tenders.
European yards are specialists in this kind of ship, including Spain's Astilleros Gondan and Zamakona Yards, Norway's Ulstein Verft and Havyard Group, Turkey's Cemre Engineering Shipbuilding Industry and Trade, and Damen Shipyards of the Netherlands.
Ostensjo a candidate?
Norwegian owner Ostensjo Rederi may also be a potential participant.
It ordered four speculative SOVs in November, and now has contracts fixed for three of them before delivery in 2022, sources said.
No price has been given for these ships.
TradeWinds has reported that MHI Vestas and Ocean Breeze Energy have agreed to take two of the vessels for a firm period of 15 and 11 years, respectively, from delivery.
Equinor has windfarm interests in the UK, US and Poland, as well as Norway.
In 2026, the state energy company expects production capacity from renewable projects of between 4 GW and 6 GW.
This is around 10 times higher than today’s capacity, implying an annual average growth rate of more than 30%.
Towards 2035, Equinor expects to increase installed renewables capacity further to 12 GW to 16 GW, dependent on availability of attractive project opportunities.
The SOVs will support the commissioning and operation of offshore windfarms.
The Norwegian company has been working in the sector since 2016.
