SECTOR SNAPSHOT Ӏ OFFSHORE (PT 1)
The boom in offshore wind farms means there’s greater demand for lifting and specialised transport equipment to serve the sector than ever before. From dockside, to installation and service vessels, even on wind turbines themselves cranes, hoists, SPMTs, and jacking systems are proving an integral part in helping provide energy for the future. In the first of this two-part feature Julian Champkin reports on collaborations and projects in the sector.
Mammoet’s
MTC1600 cranes were developed specifically to lift XXL monopiles onto vessels and into water
Back in the 1970s growing demand for oil coincided with diminishing potential for land- based exploration. The oil crisis of 1973, caused by war in the Middle East, concentrated minds still further. As a result, exploitation of offshore oil and gas deposits began in earnest. Gulf of Mexico production was hugely expanded; North Sea extraction began. The technical challenges of erecting platforms offshore in harsh environments and deep waters were immense. New vessels and techniques and equipment were invented – the jack-up barge is just one example – and upsized. Platforms became huge. The responses transformed what was achievable offshore. A similar transformation
is unfolding now. Wind farms are being planted on seabeds or floated out and anchored offshore all around the globe. The challenges are every bit as great as those presented by the subsea oil sector in the 1970s. Wind towers are tall and getting taller; turbine nacelles are heavy; blades are long. Offshore lifting, and innovation in offshore lifting, is in demand as never before. There is an exception to this
expansion, and it is a significant one: the Trump administration is actively opposed to windfarms. In January, at a White House meeting with oil and gas executives President Trump said: "My goal is to not let any windmill be built. They're losers." In March it was announced that that Trump
administration will pay nearly $1 billion to French energy giant TotalEnergies in exchange for the company abandoning plans to build offshore wind farms in the Atlantic Ocean and instead pursue fossil fuel projects in the US. Elsewhere, though, companies
are coming together to respond to the need for wind farms. In September 2025 Swiss-based
logistics expert Kuehne &Nagel, for example, announced a partnership with specialist offshore wind services provider Empire Energy to enhance offshore wind logistics and project delivery. Heavy transport and dockside loading-on of outsized components are among their combined areas of expertise – as is offshore lifting. Singapore-headquartered lifting
and heavy transport specialist Denzai has partnered with Polish crane company Dźwigi Pomorze to provide logistics for wind farm projects in the Baltic. “Poland and the Baltic Sea
region represent a major potential market for offshore wind installations,” said Kohki Uemura, president & CEO at Denzai. “We hope that Denzai’s engineering experience and super-heavy machinery, together with Dźwigi Pomorze’s local know-how and expertise, can bring real added value to these projects.” Denzai has also, on March 9,
2026, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas Wind Systems. Through this MOU both companies will pursue
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