Cadeler sees a growing market for wind farm installation vessels.
“There are a lot of projects out there,” chief executive Mikkel Gleerup said in an interview at Cosco (Qidong) Offshore shipyard north of Shanghai.
He visited the yard in connection with the keel-laying ceremony for newbuilding number three for the company.
BW-backed Cadeler took delivery of its first vessel from Cosco in August, the 162-loa Wind Peak (built 2024).
“Most growth is in Europe still. But that is in absolute terms,” Gleerup said. “If you look at percentage terms, then the other regions are growing faster because they are coming from a much lower basis.
“But in general, we see a massive growth worldwide at the moment.”
The Oslo and New York-listed outfit has four more vessels on order at Cosco Qidong.
It has also ordered two newbuildings from Hanwha Ocean in South Korea.
Cadeler will have a fleet of 11 vessels when the last newbuilding is delivered in 2027.
A crucial focus for the Copenhagen-based company is to cultivate strong relationships with its shipyards.
Cadeler started collaborating with Cosco in 2020 in a tender round for the Wind Peak and then added the Wind Pace in 2021.
“It has actually been smooth sailing. I think Cosco all along has been incredibly collaborative, helpful and friendly,” Gleerup said.
“I wouldn’t say easy to work with, because it is never easy when you make an order of the magnitude of $650m. But it has been fair, the way we have negotiated and the way we have seen pricing.”
Cadeler has a team of 25 to 30 people at the shipyard.
“We have also invested a lot of resources in it ourselves,” Gleerup said. “We have a very big site team out here, who monitors the building and the progress of the assets.
“But at the end of the day, without Cosco working with us to achieve this result, it would have never happened. The most important is that they have delivered on their promise.
“That really means the world to us because as a young company when you do these capex investments, to also get delivery on your capex investments is really important.”
According to the CEO, the industry is dependent on Chinese yards: “China is the shipbuilding heart of the world at the moment. That is just how it is. We can like it or not like it. That is the fact.”
He believes his company’s current newbuilding programme is sufficient.
“At the moment, we are not considering it [ordering],” he said. “But can it change? Yes. If the clients are willing to commit. Then we are also willing to evaluate building more assets.”
The firm’s close collaboration with the yards is an edge, according to Gleerup.
A new order from Cadeler could be delivered within three to four years compared with maybe five years for a competitor.
“I think as one of the few companies in the industry, we have the benefit that we could order because we have a very good relationship with the yards,” he said.
