Seatrium and Maersk Offshore Wind settle newbuild dispute

Seatrium and Maersk Offshore Wind have reached resolution in a dispute over a $475 million wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV) originally due to be delivered in January 2026.In October the Maersk unit cancelled the WTIV it ordered at Seatrium in March 2022 at cost of $475 million. At the time of the termination the vessel was 98.9% complete and due for delivery on 30 January 2026.Seatrium rejected the cancellation and said it would enforce delivery of the newbuilding by the contracted date. Both parties lodged arbitrations in London over the dispute.In a statement on 22 December Seatrium said Seatrium Energy (International) and Maersk’s Phoenix II had reached a resolution over the dispute and Maersk had agreed to take delivery of the vessel by 28 February 2026 paying the balance of $360 million owing under the contract. To date Seatrium had only received a 20% down payment on the newbuilding.To conclude the purchase Seatrium has agreed to provide $250 million in interest bearing credit to the buyer through Seatrium SG (SGS). The credit is under a 10-year arrangement and will be repaid by earnings from the WTIV. SGS will have a mortgage over the vessel.

“After evaluating all feasible options alongside the end-customer, the Company is of the view that the arrangement above is the optimal way forward for the interests of the Group and the Company’s shareholders, taking into consideration the relevant circumstances, including financial impact, certainty of recoverability, and the risk of lengthy and costly legal proceedings,” Seatrium said.Both Seatrium and Maersk have withdrawn their arbitrations.The WTIV was being built for deployment at the $5 billion Empire Wind 1 windfarm that was being developed offshore the coast of New York’s Long Island by Norway’s Equinor. US President Trump called a halt to the Empire Wind 1 development in April this year, however, work resuming in the second half of May.