On February 6, Hanwha Ocean announced the signing of a contract with its subsidiary Ocean Wind Power 1 for the construction of a large wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV). The contract is valued at approximately 768.7 billion won (about $520 million) and is scheduled for delivery in the first half of 2028.
It is understood that the new vessel undertaken by Hanwha Ocean is South Korea’s first wind turbine installation vessel with the capability to install large offshore wind turbines of 15 megawatts (MW). After being put into service, it is expected to become the largest wind turbine installation vessel in South Korea’s offshore wind power project operation fleet, and will be given priority for deployment in South Korea’s domestic offshore wind power projects.
Currently, South Korea’s offshore wind power project construction sites face significant supply chain dependency risks, with construction vessels primarily reliant on overseas shipyards. Against this backdrop, Hanwha Ocean stated that securing this wind turbine installation vessel order will serve as a pioneering case study for building core offshore wind infrastructure using domestically produced Korean vessels and local supply chains.
Among South Korean shipyards, Hanwha Ocean is more competitive in the wind turbine installation vessel construction market, having already completed and delivered four vessels, making it the shipyard with the most wind turbine installation vessel construction experience in South Korea.
A representative from Hanwha Ocean stated, “The South Korean government is focusing on expanding infrastructure such as ports and ships, aiming to achieve 25 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind power capacity by 2035. Hanwha Ocean will leverage its core competitiveness in large, high-value-added specialized offshore wind power vessels to contribute to the growth of South Korea’s offshore wind power industry.”