Official Press Release
Swire Blue Ocean (SBO) expands presence with new office at Fairway House as part of its corporate strategy to move from a leading vessel operator to a Transport & Installation (T&I) contractor
Swire Blue Ocean (SBO) celebrated the official launch of its new office premises at Fairway House on 19th April 2018 as part of its corporate strategy to evolve from a traditional vessel operator to a Transport & Installation (T&I) contracting service provider. The event was graced by Guest of Honour, Director General and CEO of Danish Shipping, Anne H. Steffensen, with 100 guests, clients and employees in attendance. Guests were also invited to an interesting panel discussion on the topic, Dilemmas in Business, moderated by Mads Steffensen, known for his Danish radio programme, Mads og Monopolet.
Based in Copenhagen, SBO specialises in the installation of offshore wind turbines and foundations and strives to be the global offshore wind, construction and decommissioning partner of choice. A fully owned subsidiary of the marine services conglomerate, Swire Pacific Offshore (SPO), SBO owns and operates two O-Class vessels, namely the Pacific Orca and the Pacific Osprey, which are amongst the world’s largest and leading windfarm installation vessels. The Pacific Orca installed the world’s most powerful offshore wind turbine, MHI Vestas V164-8.8MW, at the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre off the coast of Aberdeen, Scotland in April this year and is currently working on site. The Pacific Osprey has recently upgraded her crane to 1,425-tonne and is currently working on the installation of 1,100-tonne monopiles at the Hohe See project in the German North Sea.
“The office expansion is part of our corporate strategy to strengthen our capabilities as we evolve from a leading windfarm installation vessel provider to a fully-fledged offshore wind Transportation & Installation (T&I) contractor. This means that we will be able to provide a whole suite of T&I services to meet our clients’ changing needs and meet market demand for such services in the future,” says Chief Executive Officer of SBO, Mikkel Gleerup.
The new office boasts a space of 2,200 square metres and is equipped with 11 meeting rooms and video conferencing facilities. SBO’s onshore team is projected to grow from 27 employees to approximately 40 employees in 2019, with plans to boost its workforce during peak periods when managing large-scale projects.
Business operations are as usual while transitional changes are taking place behind the scenes. SBO is currently working on the integration of new systems and procedures for T&I operations to ensure the seamless transition. SBO is also working on a partnership with Danish construction giant, Per Aarsleff, as part of its strategy for offering T&I services for foundation structures. Per Aarsleff has a proven track record for the T&I of foundations and SBO possesses two of the largest jack-up vessels in the offshore wind market along with its own experience in foundation installation.
SBO is also looking to expand into the Asian offshore market with the aim of mobilising one of its O-Class vessels to the region. Recent market developments in the Taiwanese offshore wind market and SBO’s recent signing of a memorandum of understanding with local Taiwanese parties point to the Company’s readiness for the emergence of this new market.
On the panel as seen in the picture above
Anne Hedensted Steffensen, Director General of Danish Shipping
Asger Aamund, Businessman, Author and Chairman
Katherine Richardson, Head of Sustainability Science Center at the University of Copenhagen
Christian Grau, Lifestyle Expert and Author
Mikkel Gleerup, CEO of Swire Blue Ocean A/S