Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corp (GLDD) is poised to give the US commercial shipbuilding sector a major boost with plans for a Jones Act-compliant inclined fallpipe vessel for subsea rock installation.
The company said the design and development of the first such US-flagged vessel was “moving forward” with Ulstein Design and Solutions carrying out the vessel’s conceptual and regulatory design engineering.
GLDD said that pending business conditions and a final investment decision, the vessel will be “US owned, built and operated by American workers”.
The Houston-headquartered company said the vessel could be operational as early as the first quarter of 2024 pending federal permitting and regulatory approvals.
“The vessel represents a critical advancement in building the future of the new US offshore wind industry, including establishing a US-based rock supply chain network spanning eastern seaboard states with active offshore wind leases,” GLDD said.
The company said the vessel is expected to help “spur additional job growth and regional economic opportunities” corresponding with the establishment of a US-based rock supply chain network for subsea rock installation, with quarries in states along the East Coast.
While the vessel initially would serve the East Coast, GLDD said it will be available as offshore wind projects develop along the Gulf and West Coasts.
"US offshore wind's potential growth could be a true economic stimulus for America. We believe this is the optimal time for us to leverage our extensive specialized vessel expertise to enter this exciting market now coming to the US," said GLDD chief executive Lasse Petterson.
“We are initiating this project because we firmly believe that a Jones Act compliant offshore wind subsea rock installation vessel is a critical foundational piece required to advance the U.S. offshore wind energy industry.”
Liz Burdock, chief executive of the Business Network for Offshore Wind said GLDD’s new vessel will “complete another major piece of the offshore wind industry puzzle”.
“We applaud GLDD’s foresight and decisive action in entering this potentially transformative new industry in its early days,” she said.
“This milestone brings our nation one step closer to realizing the substantial benefits from clean energy including the economic growth from projects, supply chain development, and job creation.”
