MAY 2021
NEWS LOG Vineyard Wind to use DEME, Foss for installation
DEME Offshore
Belgium-based installation contractor will work on Vineyard Wind project.
D
EME Offshore US will team with Foss Maritime to construct the 800-megawatt Vineyard Wind 1 offshore energy project, using the “feeder” concept of a foreign-flag wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV) supplied onsite by Jones Act-compliant U.S. vessels, Vineyard Wind developers announced in March. The joint venture between Avangrid Renewables and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners would be the first truly utility-scale offshore wind energy project in U.S. waters. Now on the verge of winning approval for its construction and operations plan from the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), the project could be begin delivering energy into the Massachusetts power grid in 2023. Belgium-based DEME is the installation contractor, with offices in Massachusetts to serve as the base of operations. A DEME WTIV jackup vessel working on the Vineyard Wind lease, starting 15 miles offshore from Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., would be supplied by Foss vessels from the port of New Bedford, Mass. The feeder-vessel model was used in the first U.S. pilot projects, the 30-MW Block Island Wind Farm off Rhode Island by Deepwater Wind/Ørsted and the 12-MW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind by Dominion Energy. Dominion is backing construction of its own first U.S.-flag WTIV, amid widespread concern in the industry that global demand for services of those heavy-lift 16
vessels could slow the development of offshore wind projects in U.S. waters. For Vineyard Wind, Foss Maritime, a longtime U.S. maritime service contractor with union labor, will provide the Jones Act-compliant feeder vessels. That’s a big political selling point for offshore wind in Northeast states, where organized labor has lots of clout with pro-wind energy governors and lawmakers. — Kirk Moore
Biden’s infrastructure plan a boost to workboat industry
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n April 1, President Biden unveiled an ambitious plan to improve the U.S.’s aging infrastructure that proposes funds for inland waterways, coastal ports, land ports of entry (border stations) and ferries. Waterways advocates were happy to hear Biden lay out his vision for an infrastructure overhaul at a carpenters training center outside Pittsburgh, where three major rivers converge at one of the busiest spots for navigation along the inland river system. “It is not a plan that tinkers around the edges,” the president said. “It is a once-in-a-generation investment in America.” Among many other elements of the proposal, Biden calls on Congress to invest an additional $17 billion in inland waterways, coastal ports, land ports of entry and ferries, which, he says, “are vital to our nation’s freight.” No more details were immediately available about how that money would be spent, or what the president’s priorities would be in this sector. It’s clear that his initiatives will put climate change and clean energy as priorities. He includes in his waterways initiative a “Healthy Ports program to
NEWS BITTS BOUCHARD PAYS $375,000 TO MARINER
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ouchard Transportation Co. Inc. and three former and current management officials have paid $375,000 in restitution to the brother of one of two mariners killed in a barge explosion off the Texas coast in 2017. The mariner alleged the company fired him for cooperating with investigators and reporting safety concerns to the Coast Guard. The explosion occurred on Oct. 20, 2017, off Port Aransas aboard the ATB Buster Bouchard/B. No. 255.
PASSENGER VESSEL SMS COMMENT PERIOD EXTENDED BY USCG
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he Coast Guard is extending the comment period for the advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) published Jan. 15, 2021, that seeks comments on the potential use of Safety Management Systems (SMS) to improve safety and reduce marine casualties on board U.S.-flagged passenger vessels. The Coast Guard is extending the comment period to June 1, 2021. Comments must be received by the Coast Guard on or before June 1.
MARAD MONEY FOR PORT INFRASTRUCTURE
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arad is encouraging states and port authorities to apply for $230 million in discretionary grant funding for port and intermodal infrastructurerelated projects through the Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP). Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced the funding at a White House offshore wind energy program event.
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mitigate the cumulative impacts of air pollution on neighborhoods near ports, often communities of color.” — Pam Glass
www.workboat.com • MAY 2021 • WorkBoat
