Falcon Global, a subsidiary of Seacor Marine Holdings and Fred. Olsen Windcarrier a wholly owned subsidiary of Bonheur ASA announced that they have reached a cooperation agreement whereby each party will exclusively contribute vessels and marine/installation crews to the market and operate a full spread of offshore wind installation and feeder vessels for the US offshore wind market.
The Falcon Global fleet consists of one of the largest existing US-flag and Jones-Act compliant lift boats in the U.S. With a proven track record of operating in US-waters under harsh environmental conditions, the Falcon Global fleet represents a longstanding tradition of highly competent US-officers and crew.
The combination of Fred. Olsen Windcarrier’s fleet of highly sophisticated Wind Turbine Installation vessels and the Flacon Global fleet will create a marine spread capable of installing the largest turbines in the market. The Falcon Global vessels will form a feeder-solution of up to four vessels depending on installation parameters.
The efficiency of the vessel spread will shorten installation periods and reduce costs, which will feed renewable energy onto the grid sooner than alternative installation methods. In addition, the vessel spread will enable access to the existing ports and infrastructure.
Falcon Global vessels and Fred. Olsen Windcarrier successfully installed the five turbine Block Island project in 2016, the first offshore wind farm in the US. The project was installed in only 18 days and with zero safety incidents. Currently, several offshore windfarms are planned along the US North East Coast in 13 leased areas, as reported by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in Washington, D.C. (BOEM).
John Gellert, President and CEO of SEACOR Marine Holdings Inc. commented: “We are pleased to have reached this agreement with Fred. Olsen, which will allow us to offer highly efficient and cost effective services to our wind customers, building on the successful operation our vessels had with Fred. Olsen during the Block Island campaign. We look forward to working with Fred. Olsen in delivering safe, reliable and efficient solutions to our wind customers in the US, and Europe."
He added: "This agreement is not only the first significant announcement for our investment in Falcon Global, but also a major milestone for SEACOR Marine, as we continue to implement our strategy of diversifying our customer base outside of oil and gas markets, and expanding in windfarm services where we already have a substantial presence with Windcat Workboats in Europe.”
Ketil Arvesen, Vice President of Fred.Olsen Ocean, added: “The two companies combine the best of US marine expertise and Jones Act compliant liftboats with European offshore wind know-how and class leading jack-up vessels for the upcoming US offshore wind farms. This unique combination of available assets and experience in an exclusive agreement will enable installation of multi megawatt offshore turbines in the US, bringing business case certainty to the developers. We are proud to team up with Falcon Global and SEACOR Marine in an exclusive agreement to make this happen.”