Newly established survey company in Japan completes its first contract

Japanese “K” Line Wind Service (KWS) and Singapore-headquartered EGS Survey (EGS) have established a joint venture company specializing in offshore geo-surveys which recently completed its first survey contract for the Happo-Noshiro offshore wind project.

At the Happo-Noshiro site(s), located off the Happo Town and Noshiro City in Akita Prefecture, Japan, the new company, EK Geotechnical Survey (EKGS), carried out a cable route survey with the final geo-data deliverables provided to the client, OYO Corporation, according to a press release from October 3.

The cable route survey was performed using the vessel MV Kaiyu, supplied by K-Line group company Offshore Operation.

In September 2024, a geotechnical survey vessel owned by EKGS, named EK Hayate, entered into service as a Japanese-flagged vessel capable of providing offshore drilling, sampling and in-situ testing, KWS said.

The Happo-Noshiro offshore wind farm is being developed by a consortium comprising Japan Renewable Energy Corporation (JRE), Iberdrola, and Tohoku Electric Power.

The 375 MW offshore wind farm will have up to 25 Vestas 15 MW wind turbines installed on monopile foundations and is scheduled to enter construction in 2026 and be fully operational in 2029.

The Japanese joint venture partner in EKGS, “K” Line Wind Service, was set up in 2021 by the shipping company Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (”K” Line) and its domestic subsidiary Kawasaki Kinkai Kisen Kaisha.

Since then, the company has entered several partnerships and launched several projects in offshore wind, including a design concept for a multifunctional floating offshore wind farm support vessel (MFSV) that was granted Approval in Principle (AiP) from Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK) this year.