BW Group-backed Cadeler’s new wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV) has secured a charter running until the end of 2030.
If all options are declared for the F-Class ship, the Oslo-listed company will bank more than €330m ($320m) from the contract.
The charterer is not being named, but the unit will install foundations or turbines in a flexible arrangement.
The WTIV is costing $345m from Cosco Heavy Industries (CHI) in China for delivery in the final three months of 2025.
It has been designed as a hybrid to handle both foundations and turbines.
Its first task is to work on foundations for Orsted’s Hornsea Three offshore wind farm off east England, starting in 2026.
The deal is for ship hire only, but the contract gives Cadeler the possibility of bidding on transport and installation work too.
Large developers of offshore wind farms are increasingly looking to secure business partners and assets for longer terms.
“This portfolio-based approach is also shared by the undisclosed customer in this particular case, which aims at securing the needed capacity for years to come to avoid bottlenecks and delays in project execution caused by lack of assets,” Cadeler said.
Chief executive Mikkel Gleerup said the charter showed Cadeler’s ships are a good fit for the market, as well as being in high demand.
“We are looking forward to putting our new hybrid vessel to good use in the next years while executing projects in collaboration with our business partners,” he added.
The contract at CHI includes an option for another F-Class unit, or a third X-Class vessel.
CHI is already building two X-Class ships for Cadeler for delivery in 2024 and 2025 at a cost of $651m.
