NYK Receives ClassNK Certification for Offshore Wind CTV Training
NYK has secured certification from ClassNK for Japan’s first training program for crew members of offshore wind industry crew transfer vessels (CTVs).The training is scheduled to be conducted at the Akita School of Wind and Sea training center in Oga City, Akita Prefecture, from April - offering three programs in total.The certification from Class NK is for simulator-based training for operating CTVs, which confirms that the training program meets quality and international standards after a review of the training framework…
Three Winners for Japan's 2nd Offshore Wind Power Tender
Japan's industry and land ministries on Wednesday picked three consortia, including one featuring Germany's RWE and its partners, to operate offshore wind farms in the second round of a public auction. They said they would award a fourth wind farm that was part of the tender at a later date.The results of the second major round under a new law to promote wind power were closely watched by energy companies at home and abroad, after the first round was dominated by Mitsubishi Corp.Japan's…
Japan Urged to Scale up Offshore Wind Auctions
International energy companies, from Germany's RWE to Spain's Iberdrola, are urging Japan to beef up offshore wind power auctions and make investments more attractive, amid soaring installation costs as competition for suppliers grows worldwide.Although desperate to ease its heavy dependence on energy imports from the Middle East and Russia, Japan is coming late to offshore wind, but some industry players say it is taking a more cautious approach that puts it at a disadvantage."It's a global race and we can't look at it in isolation…
Transocean's Big Move: Adapting Offshore Drilling Vessels to Install Wind Foundations
Transocean, best known for its deepwater drilling services in the oil and gas space, is looking to expand into the offshore wind sector and is planning to convert some of its offshore drilling vessels into wind foundation installation vessels.The company said Wednesday it had executed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with offshore wind installation services firm Eneti with a plan to form a joint venture company that will engage in offshore wind foundation installation…
Japan's Marubeni Starts Commercial Ops at Akita Offshore Wind Farm
Japanese trading firm Marubeni Corp started commercial operation based on the feed-in tariff program for renewable energy at Akita Port offshore wind farm on Tuesday, it said in a statement.Japan's offshore wind power market, part of the country's goal to be carbon neutral by 2050, is set to grow as the government eyes installingup to 10 GWof offshore wind capacity by 2030, and up to 45 GW by 2040.Marubeni's $768 million project of two wind farms with 140 MW capacity at Akita…
NYK's First Crew Transfer Vessel Starts Northern Offshore Charter
Japan's NYK said Thursday its new crew transfer vessel (CTV) Energizer had started its charter with Northern Offshore Services AS (NOS), a subsidiary of the Sweden-based Northern Offshore Group AB (NOG).The CTV, which will be used to service offshore wind farms, is owned by NYK and is being chartered to NOS through a long-term bareboat charter contract. It will transfer crews to offshore wind power stations, mainly in Europe, under the operation of NOS. NOG operates about 60 CTVs in the offshore wind power market in Europe…
Cheoy Lee Building WFSV Pair for Japanese Wind Farms
Currently under construction at Cheoy Lee Shipyards' Hin Lee (Zhuhai) Shipyard facility are two 27-meter wind farm support vessels (WFSV) to support operations and maintenance of the Akita and Noshiro offshore wind farms, in the Akita Prefecture region of Japan.The first WFSV is set to be launched in December this year, with the delivery to the operator Akita Offshore Wind Corporation (AOW) in early 2021.AOW's Akita Noshiro Offshore Wind Farm Project is the first large-scale commercial…
Japanese Wind Fans Bank Interest
Domestic and international lenders are vying for a slice of Japan’s nascent offshore wind power sector, which is expected to provide as much as ¥3trn (US$29bn) in project financing opportunities, albeit at very low margins.Akita Offshore Wind completed the nation’s first fundraising for a major offshore wind project last month, raising ¥80bn to build wind turbines near two ports in western Japan.Auctions for sites off Japan's shores are due to kick off in April, and lenders are…
MHI Vestas Wins First OWF Order in Japan
MHI Vestas Offshore Wind has signed a firm order with Akita Offshore Wind Corporation (AOW) to supply turbines for the Akita Noshiro Offshore Wind Farm (OWF) Project. This is the first firm order in Japan for the Danish wind turbines manufacturer."In a sector first for a utility-scale project in Japan, MHI Vestas Offshore Wind has completed firm and unconditional orders to supply turbines for the Akita and Noshiro offshore wind farms, jointly referred to as the Akita Noshiro Offshore Wind Farm Project," said a press release from the company.The wind farms have an expected combined output of 139 MW.MHI Vestas will supply 33 V117-4.2 MW turbines in total, to be installed with fixed-bottom foundations at both sites.
Siemens Gamesa Enters Japan Offshore Market
Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) has secured its first preferred supplier nomination in the Japanese offshore wind sector, winning a preferred supplier status for a 455-MW project in Akita prefecture.The agreement with Obayashi Corporation currently includes using SG 8.0-167 DD offshore wind turbines for the Northern Akita Offshore Wind Farm project, a deal which includes a long-term service agreement, with commercial operation scheduled to start in 2024. All deliveries are subject to Obayashi Corporation’s final investment decision.The Northern Akita pipeline will reach a capacity of up to 455 MW at a site located in the northern region of Tohoku, Japan.
New Japanese Coal Carrier Enters Service
A new coal carrier Noshiro Maru was delivered on September 30 at Oshima Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. in Saikai city, Nagasaki prefecture. A delivery and naming ceremony was held at the shipyard on the same day and attended by Makoto Kaiwa, chairman of Tohoku Electric Power; his wife; and NYK Chairman Yasumi Kudo. The new ship is the third to take the name Noshiro Maru, the first of which began transporting coal for Tohoku Electric Power Co. Inc. 23 years ago. The vessel is named after Noshiro terminal in Akita prefecture, the destination for coal that is transported mainly from Australia and Indonesia to generate electricity for the Tohoku district of Japan.
Japex begins Japan's 1st commercial shale oil production
Japan Petroleum Exploration Co (Japex) said on Monday it has begun the country's first commercial production of shale oil in Akita prefecture in northern Japan this month. Daily production from shale layers deep below the Ayukawa oil and gas field was about 220 barrels of crude (35 kilolitres), the company said in a statement. The company also said it would begin drilling for shale oil in Fukumezawa oil field in Akita from late May. Japan's total oil and gas production was about 77,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil equivalent in the year ended March 2013, including 25,400 bpd of oil and gas from Japex. The country's oil and gas needs have spiked as its nuclear power stations have slowly been shut down due to the Fukushima nuclear disaster three years ago…
Port of Vancouver Welcomes Maiden Voyage Filipinos
Port of Vancouver inform of the welcome given to the 'M/V Alam Sinar' commanded by Capt. Arturo A. Lobigas of the Philippines on the bulk carrier's recent maiden voyage arrival in the United States. Lobigas and his 19-member Filipino crew were welcomed to Vancouver by representatives from Pacific Northwest Ship and Cargo, and Port of Vancouver USA. The Port says that the Class NKK bulk carrier M/V Alam Sinar was built in Japan in 2014. and is owned by Grace Ocean Private Limited and operated by Malaysian Bulk Carrier.
