Construction is underway on three rock installation vessels, a trenching vessel, and a heavy lift ship for transporting offshore structures. A Taiwanese owner has meanwhile placed an order for an additional CSOV.
Van Oord has officially revealed the names of its two new flexible fallpipe vessels.
Vindnes and Vestnes are scheduled for delivery in 2028 and 2029, respectively. Van Oord said the purpose-built vessels will strengthen its subsea rock installation capabilities and support the continued growth of offshore wind, interconnector and critical energy infrastructure projects worldwide.
Van Oord said that unlike many recent market additions developed through vessel conversions, Vindnes and Vestnes have been designed from the keel up as dedicated subsea rock installation vessels.
"This purpose-built approach enables Van Oord to incorporate the latest lessons learned from decades of operations, resulting in enhanced safety, operational efficiency, installation performance and future fuel flexibility," the company said in a press release dated September 23, 2026.
Norwegian shipbuilder Vard has entered into a €66 million (US$75 million) to €75 million (US$85 million) deal with Taiwan-based Dong Fang Offshore (DFO) for the construction of a commissioning service operation vessel (CSOV), with delivery due in the third quarter of 2028.
Vard Vung Tau in Vietnam will handle the vessel’s construction, outfitting, testing and delivery. The contract announced on Wednesday, September 23, is the fifth vessel awarded to Vard by DFO.
The CSOV will support subsea work together with offshore wind installation and maintenance. The deck will also be prepared for cable installation and repair.
The vessel will be approximately 102.5 metres long and 19.5 metres wide. Its maximum speed will be 14 knots, and it will be equipped with DP2 dynamic positioning.
Marine contractor CSL OWL SRI has announced the launch of Rock Star, the first of two purpose-built subsea rock installation vessels for use in the offshore renewable energy sector.
Featuring DP2 dynamic positioning alongside a rock carrying capacity of 17,500 tonnes, the vessel can conduct installation work in water depths reaching 100 metres. Dual-fuel capabilities also allow operations on marine gas oil and methanol.
For deployment operations, Rock Star is fitted with a tremie pipe featuring active motion compensation, as well as transport belts designed to handle 60 to 300 kilograms rock gradings with individual stones weighing up to 450 kilograms.
Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI) in China has started construction of Allseas’ semi-submersible heavy lift vessel (HLV) Grand Tour.
The 230-metre HLV is scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2028. It will move offshore structures from their fabrication locations to the places where they will be installed.
Grand Tour has been designed to fit inside the bow slot of Allseas’ offshore construction vessel Pioneering Spirit. The arrangement will allow structures to be transferred directly between the vessels before single-lift installation.
Jan De Nul has placed an order for an additional trenching support vessel to be built by China Merchants Heavy Industry (CMHI).
The vessel will be a near-identical sister of Isambard K. Brunel, which is already under construction at CMHI. Design work on the vessels was undertaken by Norway's Ulstein Design and Solutions.
Like all recent vessels of Jan De Nul, she will be equipped with technology that the company said can filter up to 99 per cent of nanoparticles from exhaust gases and reduce the amount of polluting substances.