Tokyo-based Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) today informed it plans to acquire a 5% share in Seajacks from Marubeni Corporation.
With Seajacks’ vessels operating in the offshore wind market, MOL said this is a new offshore business for the company and the first step to move into the renewable energy sector through involvement in installation of offshore wind power generation systems, which is expanding in Europe and other areas around the world.
The UK-based company is currently owned by Marubeni Corporation and Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ). In 2012, INCJ and Marubeni acquired Seajacks with 50:50 ownership stakes, with Marubeni buying 5% from INCJ two years later and becoming the major shareholder of the company.
Being fully-owned by Japanese companies allows Seajacks to look to the Far East offshore wind market and be ready to tap into its opportunities, the company’s CEO Blair Ainslie told Offshore WIND in an interview from August 2016 . Seajacks’ countries of interest there are Japan, Taiwan, Korea, with some opportunities being explored in China as well.
Overall, the company is well positioned to do business across the offshore energy sector, since it owns and operates jack-up vessels that are capable of serving both offshore wind and oil and gas industries.
Seajacks has a total of five vessels, including Seajacks Scylla – the world’s largest wind installation vessel. Three of the five vessels are smaller and built mainly for the oil and gas market, but also for offshore wind operations and maintenance (O&M).
Offshore WIND Staff