Korea Getting WTIV Capable of Installing 15 MW Wind Turbines

Hanwha Ocean has secured an order from Ocean Wind Power 1 for a wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV) worth KRW 768.7 billion (approximately EUR 444 million).

Scheduled for delivery in the first half of 2028, the new vessel will be the first WTIV in Korea capable of installing 15 MW-class offshore wind turbines, and is expected to become the largest vessel of this type operating in the country, according to Hanwha Ocean.

The vessel is currently under review for priority domestic offshore wind projects, including the Shinan-Ui project, with detailed operating plans being developed, the company said on 6 February.

The 390 MW Shinan-Ui will be built off the coast of Jeollanam Province by a consortium comprising Hanwha Ocean, SK Eternix, KOMIPO (Korea Midland Power Co., Ltd.), Future Energy Fund, and Hyundai Engineering & Construction.

In December 2025, the consortium placed an order with Vestas for 26 V236-15.0 MW offshore wind turbines and signed a 20-year service agreement with the Danish OEM.

The delivery of the 15 MW wind turbines is scheduled to start in 2027, with commercial operations of the 390 MW wind farm expected to begin in 2028.

In May last year, South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced that an offshore wind cluster would be developed off the coast of Sinan, approximately 300 kilometres southwest of Seoul in South Jeolla Province, by 2033. The complex is expected to consist of ten offshore wind farms with a combined production capacity of 3.2 GW.

In September 2025, the South Korean government awarded 689 MW of offshore wind projects in a competitive tender for fixed-bottom offshore wind.

In January this year, news emerged about a floating wind construction vessel (FWCV) being built for the South Korean offshore wind market. The FWCV is planned to see its first deployment on a floating wind project off Ulsan.