Maersk in the US intends to terminate the contract with Singapore-based Seatrium for the construction of a wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV) to be deployed on Equinor’s Empire Wind offshore wind project in the US.
In March 2022, Seatrium’s subsidiary Seatrium Energy International (SEI) signed a contract with Maersk to construct a WTIV for Maersk Offshore Wind, owned by E.P. Moller Holding.
The total value of the contract is approximately US$475 million (approximately EUR410 million), and as of the date of this press release, the project is approximately 98.9% complete and is nearing completion.
Seatrium was notified of the termination on October 9 and will seek appropriate remedies, including with the end customer, Equinor’s subsidiary Empire Offshore Wind.
SEI is currently reviewing the termination notice and the information in it to reach a reasonable and legal conclusion. The company said it is also assessing its legal and commercial options in relation to the contract, including the right to challenge the termination notice or to initiate legal proceedings to recover damages arising from the termination.
Launched in May 2025, the WTIV is designed to be permanently stationed at the offshore wind farm to perform sequential installations, while tugs and special barges will transport turbine components back and forth from the loading port.
The vessel was to be deployed at Equinor’s New York offshore wind project.
The Empire Wind 1 offshore wind farm entered offshore construction with seabed preparation activities starting in March 2025. In April, the US federal government halted construction while it conducted further permitting reviews of the project, after which Equinor announced that the project processes could be delayed and commercial operations could be launched at a later date. However, the US government gave the project permission to resume offshore operations the following month.