North Star expands offshore wind business with 4 vessels

The deal increases North Star’s offshore wind fleet to 14 vessels. The new ships — Goelo Enabler, Boreas Enabler, Nordri Enabler and Sudri Enabler — are already deployed on existing contracts, allowing the company to add operational capacity immediately. Around 160 offshore personnel will continue working across the vessels.

The acquisition includes the transfer of existing charter agreements and is expected to support North Star’s operations across key European markets. The company said its existing infrastructure would enable integration of the vessels while maintaining continuity for current clients.

Investment firm Partners Group, which bought North Star in 2022, has backed the company’s expansion into offshore wind. 

North Star says it expects to generate around £100 million (€115 million) of current EBITDA, up more than three-fold in the last four years. The majority of this increase is derived from the growing SOV fleet business.

“Finalising this four-vessel transaction marks another step forward for North Star in offshore wind,” said chief executive Gitte Gard Talmo. “Bringing these SOVs into our fleet broadens our customer offering, strengthens our platform and reinforces our presence in key European markets.

“I am proud of our team, who have worked tirelessly to complete the necessary due diligence and ship inspections, and I am very pleased to welcome many new colleagues to North Star as part of this exciting expansion.”

“The successful execution of this deal underscores the continued confidence of our investors in our commercial capabilities and the maturity of our systems and organisation to support increasing scale,” said Chief financial officer Fraser Dobbie.

Kevin Gilhawley, a board member and representative of Partners Group, said the acquisition adds ‘meaningful scale’ to the company’s offshore wind fleet.

North Star, headquartered in Aberdeen with bases in the UK and Germany, has a long history in offshore services and continues to expand its role in supporting offshore wind operations.

It also operates a fleet of 37 emergency response and rescue vessels supporting offshore energy installations.