Samsung Heavy Industries announced on the 7th that it was the first domestic shipbuilder to achieve its order target for the year of USD 8 billion, a target that it met when it received an order for a unit of wind turbine installation vessel from a Southeast Asian shipper and a unit of FPU for oil production from North America amounting to USD 0.8 billion.

The Company’s early achievement of the target was attributed to orders for 20 units of high-efficiency container ships at prices 20% higher than those of ordinary container ships, and its strategy of building high-efficiency and eco-friendly ships, including oil tankers equipped with a noxious vapor recovery unit.

The newly ordered FPU (Floating Production Unit) will be built through a turnkey project from design, procurement and installation to commissioning, and the completed ship will be delivered to a marine oil field in the Gulf of Mexico in 2013.

This contract signals the activation of the marine energy development market, and was executed despite the slowdown in the market that followed the US government’s suspension of drilling after the recent large-scale oil well explosion in the Gulf of Mexico.

On the same day, the Company also received an order for a wind turbine installation vessel from a Southeast Asian shipper. The ship will be the world’s largest structure that can carry and install 12 units of 3.6 MW wind power turbines. The order signals a promising future for the wind power market.

The ship can install wind power turbines in waters up to 75 m deep, and its special design will enable the installation of ultra-large wind power turbines 10 MW or larger, which are in the development stage, in order to meet the latest trends of the industry.

After the installation vessel is fixed at the marine power plant, a 1,200 t crane fixed at the ship assembles the wind turbine tower, powerhouse and wings.

By fixing six pillars of the ship to the sea bottom and floating the ship 10 m above the sea’s surface, installation can be done in a manner least affected by wind and waves, and can be completed with maximum accuracy and promptness.

The wind turbine installation vessel of Samsung Heavy Industries will enable the installation of a wind power turbine every 36 hours no matter how harsh the weather and wave conditions are, as it is designed to endure wind velocities of 20 m per second and waves 2.5 m in height.

Industry experts predict that the marine power market will grow rapidly from 3 GW in 2010 to 43 GW in 2020, prompted by the global push for more renewable energy generation. As 8,000 units of 5 MW wind power turbines will be built to meet future needs, it is expected that the robust demand will lead to a boom in orders for wind turbine installation vessels.

CEO Roh In-Sik of Samsung Heavy Industries said, “We launched the marine power facility business to capture the wind power market, which is experiencing average annual growth of 13%, and now we are launching the wind turbine installation vessel. I expect that the eco technologies from the shipbuilding sector and the wind power sector will create synergies.”