Investing in the world’s frst road transportable foating dry dock

Crowley is investing in Tugdock, a developer of the world’s frst roadtransportable foating dry dock known as the Tugdock Submersible Platform (TSP), to help advance ofshore wind energy in the US.

Together with Tugdock, US-based supply chain solutions company Crowley, which is serving the ofshore wind sector, will explore potential use of the platforms in locations, such as the US West Coast, where depth and conventional dry docks may be ill-suited for the logistics required.

“This important investment and collaboration with Tugdock strategically complement our vision and marketleading logistics capabilities to support wind energy development from beginning to end”, says Bob Karl, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Crowley Wind Services. “Not only will we help installation developers solve logistics challenges, as a leader in sustainable and innovative maritime logistics Crowley will further develop the use of ofshore wind as a leading alternative energy source by working together with our customers, suppliers, policymakers and others across our value chain for innovations like the Tugdock Submersible Platform.” “We are delighted to form a new partnership with Crowley, a visionary company at the forefront of marine innovation”, states Shane Carr, CEO of Tugdock, which is based in Cornwall, UK. “Their strategic investment will enable us to take our unique technology to the US foating ofshore wind market for the frst time. We believe that our new partnership will help accelerate the growth of foating ofshore wind in the US.”

In September 2022, the US government announced a goal to deploy 15GW of installed foating ofshore wind capacity of the coast by 2035 – enough clean energy to power over fve million American homes. This supports a US target to reduce the cost of foating ofshore wind energy by more than 70%, to USD45 per MWh by 2035. Crowley Wind Services is developing and planning wind terminals in California, Louisiana and Massachusetts. At the California Port of Humboldt Bay, Crowley is progressing on an agreement to build and operate a terminal for manufacturing, installation and operation of ofshore wind foating platforms, the use of large heavy cargo vessels, and providing crewing and marshalling services for the Pacifc waters recently approved for leases for wind energy. Humboldt and other West Coast installations will rely upon foating ofshore wind turbines.

Tugdock’s award-winning, patented TSP technology ofers a cost-efective solution for developers and ports in the foating ofshore wind industry. TSPs are developed to be launched in ports that lack the sufcient water depth and assembly space required to build and loadout the massive foating substructures required to support ofshore wind turbines. The technology allows foating dry docks to be delivered by road in modular form and assembled at the port to dimensions far wider than most of the world’s existing dry docks. Once loaded, the platform is then towed to deeper water for launching and transporting the turbines. The Tugdock product line comes in a range of deck sizes from 12m x 12m up to 120m x 120m with a total lift capacity up to 35,000t and can lift vessels and other foating structures clear of the water at a fraction of the cost of standard dry docks.

“The cost and time constraints associated with port infrastructure developments and submersible barge suitability are major bottlenecks holding back growth of the foating ofshore wind sector”, explains Lucas Lowe-Houghton, Director of Strategy and Growth at Tugdock. “Our TSP technology helps overcome these issues, providing a ready-to-go solution that does not require planning or environmental permissions. This is a massive beneft as planning permission for a permanent facility could signifcantly delay project schedules and not provide a return on investment. Tugdock provides a purpose-built permanent or temporary pre-assembly solution for construction and loadout, wind turbine generator integrations, and major repair campaigns.”

Tugdock’s award-winning, patented TSP technology ofers a cost-efective solution for developers and ports in the foating ofshore wind industry.

Tugdock recently participated in Crowley’s frst Innovation Expo in Jacksonville (Florida, US), where start-up ventures pitched their innovations for the advanced energy, sustainability, supply chain, and technology sectors. The startup has formed a partnership with Sarens, one of the global leaders in crane rental and heavy lifting, to ofer its technology to ofshore wind clients in Europe.

Tugdock has been selected to work with Equinor on the pioneering Launch Academy programme managed by Ofshore Renewable Energy Catapult in the UK. i. tugdock.com i. crowley.com