Sea Challenger to Fly Japanese Flag as DEME and Penta-Ocean Complete Offshore Wind Tie-Up

Japan’s Penta-Ocean Construction and DEME Offshore have established a joint venture company, Japan Offshore Marine (JOM), to collaborate in the field of offshore wind construction in Japan.

JOM, owned 51 per cent by Penta-Ocean and 49 per cent by DEME, will engage in investigation, engineering, procurement of materials and equipment, and construction related to foundation work of wind turbines, transportation and installation work of wind turbines, and cable laying work for offshore wind farm projects in Japan in cooperation with Penta-Ocean.

JOM plans to obtain the offshore installation vessel, Sea Challenger, currently owned by DEME Offshore, after upgrading it with an even larger crane, which will be changed to a Japanese-flagged vessel to be in service by spring 2025.

As a result, Penta-Ocean will own three offshore installation vessels, including CP-8001, a vessel equipped with an 800t crane completed in 2019, and CP-16001, a vessel equipped with a 1,600t crane that is currently under construction jointly with Kajima Corporation and Yorigami Maritime Construction Co., Ltd.

The Japanese government has set targets for the development of 10 GW of offshore wind power by 2030, and 30-45 GW by 2040.

The ongoing auction for the development of fixed-bottom projects in the two areas off Akita and one off Chiba has attracted bids from the consortium of Ørsted, Japan Wind Development Co. (JWD), and Eurus Energy, the consortium of Ørsted and TEPCO Renewable Power, and the consortium of JERA, Equinor, and Electric Power Development (J-Power).

Earlier this year, Japan selected the developer of the country’s first commercial floating offshore wind farm.