The ESVAGT and KMC Line joint venture, KESTO, will provide offshore wind service logistics on Shinan-Ui offshore windfarm.
KESTO,the newly formed joint venture between Denmark’s ESVAGT and South Korea’s KMC Line, has landed its first long-term agreements, marking a significant step in the partners’ strategic push into the Korean offshore wind market.
Under the new contracts, KESTO will deliver offshore service logistics to Vestas for the Shinan-Ui offshore wind farm. The deal will see the joint venture supply vessels to support Vestas’ service operations from 2028, with a firm commitment of at least ten years.
“This is an important and significant milestone for KESTO, and we are proud to extend ESVAGT’s strong partnership with Vestas into Korea, supporting the renewable market, through our joint venture with KMC Line. KESTO will be the first vessel operator with long-term contracts, which is a testament to the quality and safe offshore operations, we offer our clients” says Søren Karas, CEO of ESVAGT.
KESTO will be servicing Vestas from the construction phase, and once the wind farm is operational, KESTO will deliver service operations for Vestas in the wind farm until 2039.
“This contract marks the formal start of KESTO’s operational journey. KESTO aims to deliver superior offshore wind vessel services that meet both international operational standards and Korean regulatory requirements. We are excited to move forward with this long-term scope with Vestas.”, says James Kim, CEO of KMC Line.
KESTO has now initiated the construction of two 27-meter-long Crew Transfer Vessels (CTVs), each with capacity for 24 technicians. The vessels will safely transfer the technicians to the Vestas V236-15.0 MW turbines for daily service and maintenance.
“Over the years, we have gained extensive experience with Safe Transfer Boat (STB) operations in offshore wind farms, where we have safely and efficiently transferred turbine technicians more than 350,000 times. STB operations are very similar to CTV operations, and we are confident that our experience, transfer of knowledge procedures and crew education plans will ensure Vestas the highest level of quality operations”, says Jacob Lykke-Kjeldsen, Senior Sales Executive at ESVAGT.
The vessels, which are of European design and carefully selected based on performance and site-specific conditions, will be built at a Korean shipyard, adding to KESTO’s ambitions and commitments in supporting the local supply chain. KESTO will take delivery of the vessels in Q1 2028.
KMC’s strong crew base and connections with Korean maritime universities will provide personnel, and joint training aboard ESVAGT’s vessels will ensure a solid competency base before operations begin.
“Our primary focus is to establish strong operational readiness ahead of vessel delivery. KESTO will leverage the proven crew resources and operational experience of the parent companies, while progressively developing the K-standard for operational excellence.” says Han Cho, Representative Director of KESTO.
