[Exclusive] Only One Offshore Wind Turbine Installation Vessel in Korea... KEPCO and Hyundai Construction Discuss Additional Orders

Only One Domestic Vessel Amid Market Growth
Acceleration Expected in Offshore Wind Farm Construction

Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) and Hyundai Construction are preparing to place orders for wind turbine installation vessels (WTIVs) needed for offshore wind farm construction. The global market for offshore wind turbine installation vessels is currently dominated by Europe and China. Although the offshore wind market is expected to expand significantly in the future, there is only one offshore wind turbine installation vessel in Korea, raising concerns about dependence on foreign vessels. If KEPCO and Hyundai Construction secure additional offshore wind turbine installation vessels, it is expected that the pace of domestic offshore wind farm construction will accelerate. An offshore wind turbine installation vessel is equipped with a crane on board to transport and install equipment such as turbines and blades at sea.

According to the wind power industry on June 2, KEPCO and Hyundai Construction are in discussions with shipbuilders such as Samsung Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean regarding the construction of offshore wind turbine installation vessels. A KEPCO official stated, "We are currently reviewing an investment project for offshore wind turbine installation vessels internally," and added, "At the preliminary investigation stage, we are checking the construction status of domestic shipbuilders with experience in building installation vessels, such as Samsung Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean."

The Hyundai Frontier is departing from the waters off Tongyeong, Gyeongnam on June 13, 2023. Hyundai Construction

Hyundai Construction, which owns one installation vessel through its subsidiary Hyundai Steel Industries, is also discussing an additional order with Hanwha Ocean and is approaching a final decision. A Hyundai Construction official said, "Since the project requires an investment of several hundred billion won, we are carefully reviewing the investment while monitoring government policies and market conditions." It is known that the construction cost of an offshore wind turbine installation vessel ranges from 500 billion to 700 billion won, depending on the size.

The reason KEPCO and Hyundai Construction are considering investing in offshore wind turbine installation vessels is that the domestic offshore wind power market is expanding, but there is only one installation vessel in Korea. As a result, the cost of offshore wind farm construction has risen sharply, and construction schedules are experiencing delays.

Hyundai Steel Industries, the operator of offshore wind farm construction, operates the Hyundai Frontier, which is the only offshore wind turbine installation vessel in Korea. The Hyundai Frontier, built by HSG Sungdong Shipbuilding, required a total investment of 130 billion won, including 11.6 billion won in government subsidies, and embarked on its maiden voyage in June 2023. It has been used for the Hallim Offshore Wind Power and Jeonnam Offshore Wind Power Phase 1 projects.

This installation vessel can only install wind turbines up to 10 megawatts (MW) in size in waters up to 60 meters deep. However, as offshore wind turbines are becoming larger, with recent models exceeding 14 MW, there is a growing need for new installation vessels. The government plans to expand offshore wind power capacity to 14.3 gigawatts (GW) by 2030, so demand for installation vessels is expected to increase further.

European offshore wind turbine installation vessels that support large wind turbines require a long time to move and are expensive, which has been identified as another bottleneck in offshore wind farm construction. An industry official said, "The daily charter rate for European installation vessels reaches 500 million to 600 million won, and they also demand a huge deposit." If there is a delay in the domestic construction schedule, the entire deposit could be lost. In the case of Chinese installation vessels, the cost is lower than in Europe, but there are concerns about maritime security.

Meanwhile, since this year, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has included vessel-related criteria in the security index for offshore wind power fixed-price bidding, and demand for domestic installation vessels is expected to rise. In the security index, which allocates a total of 8 points for public-led offshore wind power (6 points for the general type), a comprehensive evaluation is made of ▲ securing core resource supply chains for stable energy supply and power plant security ▲ plans for the use of vessels and personnel ▲ and power plant safety and security plans.

If domestic installation vessels are used, it is expected that they will receive favorable evaluations not only in the security index but also in industrial and economic impact, as well as in base and maintenance indices. However, a Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy official explained, "The evaluation of the security index is unrelated to the nationality of the installation vessel."

The reason KEPCO is considering investment in installation vessels is largely due to the fact that, starting this year, a separate public-led offshore wind power market has been established for power generation public enterprises. The offshore wind power bidding in the first half of 2025 totals 1,250 MW, of which 500 MW is allocated for public-led projects.

The wind power industry expects that Korea Offshore Wind Power Co., Ltd., jointly invested by KEPCO and six power generation companies, will apply for this public-led offshore wind power bidding. Korea Offshore Wind Power is promoting a 400 MW demonstration project following the 60 MW Southwest Offshore Wind Power demonstration project. In 2021, KEPCO also developed the offshore wind power one-stop installation vessel (MMB) technology, which enables the assembly of the generator substructure and upper turbine at the port and the transport and installation of the entire generator structure at sea.

Meanwhile, domestic shipbuilders have built and delivered several offshore wind turbine installation vessels to overseas shipowners. Hanwha Ocean has delivered a total of three installation vessels so far, including a large installation vessel ordered by the global offshore wind specialist Cadeler. Samsung Heavy Industries has also built and delivered three offshore wind turbine installation vessels to date.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.