Offshore wind has moved from “emerging tech” to critical national infrastructure. Bigger turbines, deeper water, longer export cables, and tighter construction windows mean projects are more complex than ever. That complexity creates a simple reality for developers, EPCs, and marine contractors: if your marine equipment insurance programme isn’t built for offshore wind, you can end up with expensive gaps right when you need cover most.
A modern offshore wind project can involve:
Heavy-lift and jack-up vessels
Cable lay and trenching spreads
ROVs and survey equipment
Temporary works and bespoke tooling
Onshore marshalling ports and storage
Multiple tiers of subcontractors
Each piece of the puzzle introduces different exposures—some traditional marine, some construction, and some technology-driven (like control systems and cyber). The best insurance programmes treat offshore wind as a “system of risks,” not a single policy.
Marine equipment in offshore wind isn’t just what sits on a vessel. It can include any specialist plant, machinery, and tools used at sea or in the marine environment, such as:
Cable laying equipment (carousels, tensioners, linear cable engines)
Trenching and burial tools (ploughs, jetting systems, trenchers)
ROVs, AUVs, and subsea tooling
Survey equipment (multibeam sonar, magnetometers, positioning systems)
Lifting equipment (spreader bars, slings, rigging, bespoke lifting frames)
Temporary power, generators, compressors
Diving spreads and saturation systems
Temporary works and installation tooling
Spare parts and critical components
Because these assets move between ports, barges, vessels, and offshore sites, the insurance needs usually span transit, storage, operation, and sometimes hire/lease arrangements.
Offshore wind is “high value, high consequence.” The cost of a single incident can escalate quickly because:
Weather windows are narrow; delays are expensive.
Specialist vessels are scarce; downtime costs can be extreme.
Subsea repairs are slow and technically difficult.
Supply chains are global; transit exposures are constant.
Contractual risk transfer is complex across multiple parties.
A minor equipment failure can become a major loss once you add:
Standby vessel costs
Re-mobilisation and demobilisation
Replacement lead times
Liquidated damages (LDs) under contract
Extra costs to expedite (air freight, overtime, alternative vessels)
Insurance can’t remove the operational reality, but it can stop a technical issue becoming a balance-sheet problem.
Below are the main policy types that typically form an offshore wind marine equipment insurance programme. The right mix depends on whether you’re a developer, principal contractor, marine contractor, cable contractor, survey company, or equipment owner.
If you own or operate vessels (or have charter responsibilities), Hull & Machinery covers physical loss or damage to the vessel, often including:
Hull, machinery, and equipment
Collision and contact damage
Salvage and general average contributions
Key offshore wind considerations:
Vessel class, trading limits, and warranties
Jack-up operations and leg damage exposures
DP (dynamic positioning) systems and associated failures
Contractual liabilities under charter parties
P&I is the liability backbone for marine operations. It can respond to:
Third-party bodily injury and illness
Pollution liabilities
Wreck removal
Damage to third-party property
Offshore wind projects often require clear alignment between P&I and other liability covers (like Employers’ Liability and Public Liability) to avoid disputes over “who picks up what.”
For contractors, plant and equipment cover can insure owned or hired-in equipment against accidental damage and theft. Offshore wind-specific points include:
Territorial limits (UK/Europe/worldwide)
Offshore use extensions (some policies exclude use at sea)
Hired-in plant responsibilities and contract conditions
Cover while in storage at marshalling ports
For project owners and EPCs, a CAR policy may cover works during construction, including:
Offshore foundations
Turbines during installation
Inter-array and export cables
Onshore substations
Offshore wind relies on global logistics: blades, nacelles, towers, cable drums, transformers, and specialist tooling. Marine cargo insurance can cover loss or damage during transit, including:
Sea freight, road haulage, and inland transit
Loading and unloading
Storage in transit (subject to terms)
Important clauses to review:
Institute Cargo Clauses (A/B/C) and exclusions
Packing and inherent vice exclusions
Delay exclusions (often misunderstood)
Temperature/humidity controls for sensitive components
DSU is often the most financially significant cover for owners and lenders. It can respond to revenue loss and additional costs if physical damage causes project delay.
Offshore wind DSU pressure points:
Subsea cable damage (a common high-severity scenario)
Transformer/substation failures
Vessel incidents that delay installation
Long lead-time components and limited repair capacity
DSU is only as strong as the underlying material damage cover and the project schedule assumptions. If your programme doesn’t reflect realistic repair times and vessel availability, you can be underinsured.
Even with P&I, most contractors still need robust liability cover for:
Onshore activities at ports, warehouses, and yards
Work on client sites
Employee injury claims (Employers’ Liability is compulsory in the UK)
Offshore operations can blur the lines between marine and non-marine liabilities, so policy wording and contract review matter.
Offshore wind projects are engineering-led. Design, specification, survey interpretation, and project management errors can create major losses.
PI is particularly relevant for:
Marine warranty surveyors and consultants
Engineering design firms n- Survey and geotechnical providers
Cable route planning and installation methodology
Offshore wind assets rely on SCADA, remote monitoring, and connected systems. Cyber cover may be relevant for:
Ransomware and business interruption
Data breaches
Incident response costs
Operational technology (OT) disruption
Even if you don’t buy a standalone cyber policy, you should understand cyber exclusions in property and marine policies.
Insurance is easiest to value when you can picture the loss. Here are frequent scenarios that drive claims and disputes.
A cable can be damaged by:
Excess tension or over-bending
Poor seabed conditions
Incorrect burial depth
Anchor strikes or third-party interference
Loss costs can include retrieval, repair joints, re-lay, vessel time, and schedule delay.
Dropped objects are a major offshore hazard. A failed shackle, sling, or lifting frame can cause:
Damage to high-value components
Injury or fatality
Pollution incidents
Project delay
Insurers will look closely at inspection regimes, LOLER compliance (where applicable), and lift planning.
ROVs can be lost or damaged due to:
Entanglement
Thruster failure
Umbilical damage
Collision with subsea structures
Because ROVs are often hired-in or operated under complex contracts, it’s critical to confirm who bears the risk and how it’s insured.
Weather can force suspension of operations. Insurance typically does not cover pure delay due to weather, but it may cover resulting physical damage (depending on wording). This is where expectations must be managed early.
Marshalling yards can see:
Storm damage
Theft and vandalism
Handling damage
Fire risks
These losses often fall into grey areas between property, cargo, and plant policies.
Offshore wind programmes fail most often at the “interfaces.” Here are the big ones.
Many standard contractors’ plant policies are designed for land-based construction. Offshore wind contractors should confirm:
Offshore territorial limits
Cover while on board vessels
Cover while being lifted over water
Cover for immersion and saltwater exposure
If you hire specialist tooling, contracts may make you responsible for:
Full replacement value
Loss of hire
Transit risks
Make sure your policy matches the hire contract terms, including valuation basis and any deductibles you can realistically absorb.
Many policies exclude the cost of correcting defective workmanship but may cover resulting damage. The difference matters.
Example: If a cable joint is installed incorrectly, the policy may not pay to redo the joint, but it may pay for the damage caused when the joint fails—subject to wording.
Offshore wind can produce repeated losses (for example, multiple cable faults). How insurers aggregate losses affects deductibles and limits.
Marine contracts often use knock-for-knock liability structures. If your contracts allocate risk in one direction but your insurance assumes another, you can end up uninsured.
A strong offshore wind marine equipment insurance programme usually starts with three steps.
List where equipment will be:
In storage (yards, ports)
In transit (road/sea)
On board vessels
In operation offshore
Returned, refurbished, or stored long-term
Each stage may require different cover triggers.
Collect key contracts and confirm:
Who is responsible for loss/damage at each stage
Who must insure what, and at what limits
Waivers of subrogation and additional insured requirements
Indemnities, knock-for-knock, and limitations of liability
For offshore wind, “likely” losses are less important than “credible severe” losses. Consider:
Maximum value at risk (single item and accumulation)
Vessel day rates and standby costs
Lead times for replacement components
Repair location and logistics
If you want competitive terms, underwriters usually look for evidence of strong risk management, including:
Maintenance and inspection records
Lift plans and competent person sign-offs
Asset tracking and security at ports
Weather risk procedures and go/no-go criteria
Subcontractor vetting and competence
Incident reporting and lessons learned
Clear project schedules and contingency planning
The more you can show control over the basics, the more likely you are to secure broader cover and manageable deductibles.
Use this as a quick internal check before renewal or project mobilisation:
Do we have cover for equipment while offshore, including lifting over water?
Are hired-in tools covered to the contract replacement basis?
Are transit and storage exposures insured, including marshalling yards?
Do our policies align with knock-for-knock and indemnity clauses?
Have we identified accumulations (multiple high-value items in one place)?
Are DSU assumptions realistic for subsea repairs and vessel availability?
Have we checked cyber exclusions across property/marine policies?
Do we have clear claims procedures and incident response contacts?
Usually not. Most cargo policies exclude pure delay. Some additional costs may be covered if they arise from insured physical loss or damage, but you should assume delay alone is uninsured unless specifically endorsed.
Not always. Many plant policies exclude offshore use, immersion, or operation from vessels. Offshore wind contractors often need tailored extensions or a specialist marine equipment policy.
Typically the project owner (and sometimes lenders require it). DSU is designed to protect revenue and financing assumptions if physical damage delays completion.
If you provide design, specification, survey interpretation, or project management services, PI is strongly recommended. Even contractors can face allegations of negligent methodology or supervision.
Interfaces between policies and contracts—especially where responsibilities shift between parties during transit, lifting, installation, and commissioning.
Offshore wind growth is a huge opportunity for the UK supply chain—but it’s also a test of operational discipline. The projects that manage risk best are the ones that treat insurance as part of project planning, not a last-minute procurement task.
If you’re mobilising for a new offshore wind contract, renewing a marine equipment programme, or expanding into cable or subsea work, it’s worth pressure-testing your cover against the real-world scenarios above. The goal isn’t just to “have insurance”—it’s to have insurance that responds when the project is on the line.
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