Vessel Firm’s $700 Million Takeover Targets Wind’s Ship Shortage

By Bloomberg

Jul 25, 2024

image is BloomburgMedia_SH40SLT0G1KW00_25-07-2024_09-26-50_638574624000000000.jpg

A wind turbine stands at the Hornsdale wind farm, operated by Neoen SAS, near Jamestown, South Australia, on Friday, Sept. 29, 2017. Against a backdrop of wind turbines 150 miles (241 kilometers) north of Adelaide, Musk announced a contract to build the world's largest lithium-ion battery system had been signed with South Australia's power distributor, triggering a 100-day self-imposed deadline to install the electricity storage system. Photographer: Carla Gottgens/Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Offshore wind vessel operator Cyan Renewables Pte Ltd has acquired an Australian peer for $702 million, in a deal seen addressing a persistent shortage of ships capable of servicing rapidly growing wind farms at sea.

The Singapore-based firm will take over MMA Offshore Ltd.’s fleet of 20 vessels, marking the largest take-private deal in the regional offshore wind energy services industry, according to a statement Thursday.

The transaction comes during a bleak period for the sector, which has been hammered by rising costs, supply chain snarls, and a lack of ships capable of installing and maintaining turbines.

Globally, offshore wind is set to grow five-fold between 2022 and the middle of the next decade, according to BloombergNEF. Shipping broker Clarksons estimates about $20 billion of investment is needed to build 200 new ships if a global target of installing 30,000 turbines is to be met by 2030.

Without a huge flotilla of service vessels and billions in capital investment, the wind farms will never get built, said James Chern, managing partner and chief investment officer of Seraya Partners, which owns Cyan Renewables.

“That is why we attract a lot of capital to support Cyan, because everybody clearly sees that we are addressing a very big problem,” he said in an interview.

By Sing Yee Ong