A US$475 million vessel building contract won by Seatrium back in March 2022 has been terminated by the customer Maersk Offshore Wind, which put forward "allegations" that Seatrium did not elaborate in its announcement.
Seatrium's share price, following the announcement before market, was down 6.56% to $2.28.
The wind turbine installation vessel, already 98.9% built, is meant to be deployed in a US offshore wind farm, Empire Wind 1.
Seatrium says it will explore "viable solutions" and is evaluating its legal and commercial options, including whether or not to contest the termination and to "seek all available remedies".
Seatrium's net order book as at the end of 1HFY2025 was $18.6 billion.
The once-bustling US offshore wind market has come under fire from the Trump administration.
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US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told an industry conference last month that offshore wind has no future as a source of electricity generation in the US under President Donald Trump as it is too expensive and not reliable enough.
Five offshore wind farms are already under construction in the US: including Empire Wind, which is off New York.
“Yes, they were permitted but they got moved through a very fast ideologically driven permitting process,” Burgum said in an interview with CNBC.
In April, the Department of the Interior had issued a stop-work order for Empire Wind, but reversed its decision in May.
“I can’t say for certain because some of these projects are a literal train wreck in terms of their economics,” Burgum said.
“If we were to complete them then we’re just locking in billions and billions of taxpayer money which might be going to a hedge fund.”
