The Singapore based Keppel FELS also has its roots in building huge offshore jack up platforms for the oil and gas industry. It is a subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd (Keppel O&M), which, in turn, is a wholly owned company of Keppel Corporation Limited.
This yard not only builds the vessels but also comes up with its own proprietary designs. The Keppel Offshore and Marine division is a global leader in offshore vessel design, creating innovative designs to meet the requirements of markets for safer and higher specification vessels able to work in harsher environments.
Their yards in Singapore alone add up to almost 140 hectares with 4km of quay length for fitting out of vessels. Not only in Singapore but over the whole world, their network of 20 yards and offices spreads from the Asia Pacific region to the Gulf of Mexico, Brazil, the Caspian Sea, Middle East and the North Sea.
The Keppel strategy in the renewable energy market not only involves the design and building of vessels but also partnerships with customers. In partnership with Dutch company Seafox, part of the Workfox group, they have entered the offshore wind energy sector building the Seafox 5.
The joint venture partnership construction gave the Dutch company the option to buy the 75% stake of the US$220 million vessel from Keppel at a later stage.
The vessel is due for delivery later this year and will be featured in the WTIV update article in the October edition of Offshore WIND.
Keppel have also recently invested, with a 49.9% stake, in the Norwegian offshore wind turbine foundation designer OWEC Tower (AS). This gives the shipyard company more than just a foothold in the offshore wind turbine foundation sector of the industry. The OWEC design jacket is by far the most widely used design for the offshore wind industry to date.
Dick Hill