Japanese shipowner Mitsui OSK Lines has acquired a majority stake in a domestic wind turbine maintenance company, deepening its commitment to renewables.
The group said Hokutaku is Japan’s largest such operation.
No financial details were revealed, but MOL added that Hokutaku has an extensive customer base in the wind power generation industry after entering the field in 1999.
It services about 80% of the 2,600 turbines in Japan.
MOL began discussions with Hokutaku in 2017, with the maintenance company’s advice helping the owner accelerate its entry into the sector.
“While Hokutaku has a sufficient track record and operation and maintenance technology performance, it is moving away from individual ownership amid the industry’s rapid growth in size and project scale,” MOL said.
The buyer has been pursuing offshore wind power generation to achieve further growth in its non-shipping business.
In 2022, the two sides set up Hokutaku MOL Wind Energy Investment to invest in offshore wind.
The fund is aiming at spending about ¥10bn ($69m).
The first investment was in Hokutaku Corporation, a special-purpose company that holds a 10% stake in Hibiki Wind Energy.
Second CSOV ordered
In November, MOL ordered another offshore wind farm vessel through its Taiwanese joint venture.
Ta San Shang Marine (TSSM), formed with Taiwan’s Ta Tong Marine Co, contracted a construction service operation vessel (CSOV) at Dutch shipbuilder Damen Shipyards.
The Damen 9020-type ship is the second in the TSSM fleet, after Vard delivered the 85.5-loa TSS Pioneer last year. The venture also has a crew transfer vessel built in 2019.
The month before, the Japanese group took a stake in Norway’s Odfjell Oceanwind.
And in September MOL bought into Dutch start-up TouchWind, which is developing a floating turbine system with a single-piece rotor.
The tilting, angled blade is expected to reduce the wind interference between turbines that tends to occur in large wind farms.
