NYK orders an Ulstein SX222 service operation vessel from PaxOcean for Asia-Pacific wind
The 89.6-metre, 120-person SOV will be built in Batam for delivery around 2029 and work in Taiwan
NYK has ordered a service operation vessel from PaxOcean Group, a member of Kuok Maritime Group, to build out its offshore wind business in the Asia-Pacific region. The ship will serve as an offshore base for personnel accommodation and logistics during the construction, operation and maintenance of wind farms. No price was disclosed.
PaxOcean will build the vessel at its Graha yard in Batam, Indonesia, to the Ulstein SX222 design. She will be 89.6 metres long with a beam of 19.2 metres and accommodate up to 120 people. The TWIN X-STERN hull is symmetrical, so the ship can work efficiently in either direction and need not turn when the weather changes, which widens the operating window. Ulstein Design & Solutions supplies the design and engineering package, and Ulstein Power & Control a DC-based hybrid power and automation system.
The SOV will have dynamic positioning, a motion-compensated gangway and a motion-compensated crane for transferring people and cargo to turbines. She is being prepared for methanol and fully electric operation, will carry dual class from DNV and CR, and will fly the Taiwan flag.
Delivery is planned for around 2029. The ship will then work on offshore wind projects in Taiwan and elsewhere in the region under a partnership with IOVTEC, a Taiwan-based offshore wind services company in which NYK took a stake in March 2025, and Hsin Chien Marine, a Taiwanese owner and manager of bulk carriers with a long relationship with the NYK Group. IOVTEC's services range from marine surveys and temporary power supply to maintenance of topside and subsea components, including cables and offshore substations.
In Europe NYK already runs an SOV business through Northern Offshore Group, a crew transfer vessel operator with more than 60 ships in which it invested in February last year, partly to gain experience ahead of offshore wind growth closer to Japan. NYK describes the order as a step from "Ocean for shipping" to "Ocean as a workplace".
"This contract is an important project for PaxOcean Group as we strengthen our capabilities in specialised vessel construction," said Sidat Senanayake, the group's head of commercial.
This story is part of the Maritime Briefing of 28 September 2026.
