Over the last few years, many statements have been made concerning growth in wind turbine and foundation installation demand. These statements have been followed, in some cases, by firm orders for high-specification vessels, mainly from established players. However, many of the announcements remain unconverted into shipyard orders.  

This report presents our analysis and forecast of the international bottom-fixed offshore wind turbine and foundation installation vessel market through 2035.

First, we provide an overview of the industry and our assessment of the underlying market and technical drivers likely to prevail through the 2035 forecast period. Then we provide our forecast for bottom-fixed offshore wind turbines and foundation installation vessels. Finally, we match the supply of installation vessels against demand to identify gaps in the market.

Offshore wind turbine and foundation installation sector

We anticipate that close to 30,000 increasingly large turbines and foundations will be installed in the international bottom-fixed segment between 2022 and 2035. 

Offshore wind activity was until recently centered in northwest Europe and China, driven by government subsidies provided to support energy transition targets. Going forward, new European markets will emerge off the coasts of the Baltic, Atlantic and Mediterranean. Activity will be seen in the wider Asian region including Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Australia and India. The US will emerge as one of the largest bottom-fixed installation markets during the forecast period. Several of the new offshore wind markets are shaped by local content preferences impacting, to various degrees local ownership, registration and flagging, crewing and vessel build content.

Wind turbine and foundation installation vessel demand is rapidly changing. Until recently this requirement has been largely satisfied by wind turbine installation vessels (WTIVs) and heavy lift vessels and semi-submersibles designed for the oil & gas and port/salvage market (HLCVs and HLSSs). Market requirements have now firmly shifted to purpose-built next generation WTIVs and WFIVs -- foundation installation vessels capable of handling the largest bottom-fixed monopile and jacket foundations. 

Additional turbine and foundation installation vessels will be required to meet international demand in the forecast perform after the middle of the decade. The decision to invest in new vessels and upgrades will be influenced by a number of underlying market conditions, which we examine in depth in the report.

The 130+ page report provides a guide to understanding the drivers that will shape requirements in this growing, globalizing and technically evolving industry. The report examines the structure of the installation industry, profiles the underlying market drivers, forecasts wind installation activity through 2035 and identifies installation vessel technical required to meet future demand.