Offshore Wind OSVs
Winds of Change
By Kirk Moore, Contributing Editor
20
C
atamaran designs are ruling the offshore wind market for crew transfer vessels, based on the deep experience of United Kingdom and European naval architects and builders who have shared their expertise with U.S. counterparts. Typical is the 68'×28.4' crew transfer vessel (CTV) Atlantic Endeavor, owned and operated by Atlantic Wind Transfers to support Dominion Energy's Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind pilot wind farm. UK-based vessel designer Chartwell Marine oversaw the vessel’s construction when it was built at Blount Boats Inc., Warren, R.I. Blount also built the Atlantic Pioneer, the first CTV to be launched in the U.S. market, which has serviced the Block Island Wind Farm since 2016.
“Even with the pandemic, international collaboration to build out an innovative U.S. CTV fleet has continued,” Andy Page, managing director, Chartwell Marine, said in a prepared statement when the Atlantic Endeavor was delivered. “We’ve been proud to continue working remotely with Blount to deliver a vessel to AWT’s specifications, a testament to the yard’s adaptability. As U.S. offshore wind continues to grow, it will be crucial to ensure a strong blueprint for a sustainable future is laid using reliable, trusted vessel designs.” With several gigawatts of offshore wind capacity to be installed the next few years — and the Biden administration’s goal of 30 megawatts by 2030 — the U.S. offshore wind sector must rapidly build out its maritime supply chain to ensure new projects can be
www.workboat.com • NOVEMBER 2021 • WorkBoat
Dominion Energy
Designers look to what will work best for U.S. market.
