Australia’s Incat Crowther is the latest company to benefit from the growing offshore wind market in the US with the award of a three-vessel order for crew transfer vessels (CTV).
The order has been secured from WINDEA CTV a US operator of offshore wind CTVs and are due to be delivered in 2023.
All three vessels will initially be chartered by GE on the Vineyard Wind Offshore wind farm 15 miles off the coast of Massachusetts.
Incat Crowther said two of the CTVs will be built by St Johns Shipbuilding in Florida and one will be built by Gulf Craft in Louisiana.
The vessels, which will be classed by Bureau Veritas, will be propelled by quad Volvo IPS propulsion units driven by Volvo DI13 main engines.
“They are fully hybrid-ready, meaning the integration of the hybrid system is completely accommodated in the design. This includes dedicated voids for batteries, reserved cabling space and battery removal hatches,” Incat Crowther said.
The WINDEA CTV fleet is owned and operated by MidOcean Wind and Hornblower Wind, with technical and operational support from WINDEA Offshore shareholder Ems Maritime Offshore GmbH.
“This partnership is well positioned to build and operate a large fleet of CTVs that will be needed to serve the ongoing, rapid expansion of offshore wind power in the northeast and across the US,” said Incat Crowther.
Ed Dudson, managing director of Incat Crowther Europe said the order was the result of a significant joint development between Incat Crowther and the WINDEA CTV partners starting back in 2019.
“In collaboration with our operating partner Hornblower we are pleased to be working with Incat Crowther and the shipyards to construct the first vessels of our CTV fleet in the US,” said WINDEA CTV managing partner Bradley Neuberth.
WINDEA CTV is part of the WINDEA Offshore USA consortium, focused on serving the various maritime needs of offshore windfarm developers, installers, and OEMs in the US.
In addition to CTVs, the consortium offers solutions for service operation vessels (SOVs), feeder vessels, rockfall vessels, onshore terminal operations, and other ancillary services required to build and maintain offshore windfarms.
It mirrors the efforts of the established German entity WINDEA Offshore, which is a joint venture of three established and family-owned companies, Bernhard Schulte Offshore, Buss Offshore Solutions, and Ems Maritime Offshore.
