Scorpio-backed and New York-listed wind vessel owner Eneti is serving up a bit of an appetiser ahead of the main course as to contract work for its fleet.
Emanuele Lauro-led Eneti said it has secured between $3.3m and $4.1m in revenue in booking one of its NG2500X-class vessels — the smallest units in its fleet — for between 41 and 53 days in northwest Europe.
Eneti did not identify the wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV), which is operated by its UK-based Seajacks subsidiary.
The news comes as Eneti, the only New York Stock Exchange-listed WTIV owner, is believed to be closing in on a bigger contract for the second of two WTIV newbuildings it has under construction at South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering.
The company’s three NG2500X vessels are the 5,150-gt Leviathan and Kraken (both built 2009), and the Hydra (built 2014).
Eneti has classified the three smaller vessels as non-core assets and candidates for future sales, but the company also said in the recent fourth-quarter 2022 earnings call that they are benefitting from strong market dynamics in the short term.
“The outlook for the smaller vessels remains very positive,” said Seajacks chief operating officer Simon Brook on the call.
“And while the NG2500s are no longer installing turbines the demand for turbine maintenance, hookup and commissioning of offshore wind substations and the maintenance and decommissioning of gas platforms continues to increase.
“We continue to benefit from the reduction of supply of NG2500s and similar units in the North Sea in recent years. You may recall that just a couple of years ago there were six similar vessels operating in the region, but this number has reduced to four.”
Demand has improved as many smaller turbines are approaching 10 years old and require increased maintenance, he said. Substations requiring hook-up commissioning and maintenance also are on the rise in the North Sea amid an energy crisis that makes the gas infrastructure more critical.
As to the DSME newbuildings, the initial vessel, the Nessie, has been locked into a contract that is expected to provide revenue in the range of $70m. with an effective day rate exceeding $275,000 for work in 2025.
The second, the Siren, is expected to be booked soon at a similar or perhaps higher rate.
