CTV for US offshore wind power

The United States has big plans for the offshore wind industry, and shipbuilders such as Blount Boats are skyrocketing to take advantage of unprecedented opportunities.

Earlier this year, the Biden administration announced its goal to install and develop 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind power in the United States by 2030. The announcement included plans to develop new areas for development, accelerate permits, and increase public funding. For the project, we infused a healthy amount of optimism into the American offshore wind industry, which took time to get going.

To date, there are only 42 megawatts (MW) of capacity installed in U.S. waters, of which 30 MW is 12 MW for the Block Island Wind Farm and 12 MW for the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, but the pipeline has even more capacity. ..

“The White House statement refers to about 18-19 GW installed by 2030, which is fairly consistent with what is expected to be achievable,” said World Energy Reports. Phil Lewis said. “The conditions for supplying large amounts of offshore wind to the east coast of the United States are in place. And its 30 GW target is all about the Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast. By 2050, the long-term target of 110 GW. Yes, and the pipeline to identify it is already in place. “

Lewis added: “The federal government is planning additional offshore sites that will be available in the North, Central and South Atlantic Oceans, first in the Pacific Ocean off California, later in Hawaii and Oregon, and in the Gulf of Mexico. We plan to support project development on both the California coast and the Five Great Lakes. “

US and international maritime players are adjusting themselves to take advantage of the large and emerging opportunities offered by the early US offshore wind industry. In particular, US shipbuilders and their supporting supply chains will build and equip fleets of new vessels needed to install, maintain, and eventually abolish wind turbines along the east coast of the United States. I’m joking.

Crew Transport Vessels (CTVs) (usually aluminum twin-hull vessels used to transport personnel and light equipment to and from offshore wind farms) are used to build and service the new offshore wind industry in the United States. It is one of the required Jones law compliant ships. According to Lewis, the maximum range of these vessels is virtually 50 kilometers. Farther from the shore, you will need larger ships and helicopters.

Blount Boats, a shipyard in Warren, Rhode Island, was the first US CTV builder for Block Island wind farms in 2016, producing two of the three US flag CTVs currently in operation, and more recently in this area. Has emerged as a true leader in. Order in hand to build four more.

According to Marcia Blount, President of Blount Boats, the key to Blount’s success was the foresight of its early efforts in this sector and its reputation for shipyard quality. “For 11 years, we have carefully pursued a crew catamaran contract that is the optimal size, length and draft for our yard,” said Marcia Blount. “We saw Cape Wind self-destruct, but in the end we believed that many wind farms would be developed off our coast. We all wind farms. Attended and exhibited at the conference and built an extensive network. We are timely and appropriate to convince Deepwater Wind decision makers that they need a “dedicated ship”. I was in place. At that time, many thought-provoking fenders could be added to existing ferries to create an instant wind farm vessel. “

“The two CTVs we built worked perfectly. One contract is one, but the quality and reliability that Blount has been doing since 1949 is another.” Marcia Blount, President of Blount Boats, said. (Photo: BlountBoats)

How many CTVs do you need to build?
Currently, only three Jones Law CTVs are used in the United States. This includes Atlantic Pioneer and Atlantic Endeavor from Atlantic Wind Transfers (AWT) provided by Blount in January 2016 and 2021, and WindServe Odyssey from WindServe Marine built by Senesco Marine in North Kingstown. , RI and will be delivered in 2020.

“Currently, CTV orders are only awarded for some specific bids placed by the wind farm developers. If all rental areas are developed, many vessels are needed. But so far, CTVs haven’t been built to specifications in anticipation of demand, probably because of complexity and price, “Marcia Blount said.

A relatively small number of orders booked so far can cause problems as it accelerates project approval. “If all these projects are approved quickly, many boats need to be built quickly,” Lewis emphasized the potential pressure on the already stressed shipbuilding supply chain.

Both Atlantic Pioneer and Atlantic Endeavor were manufactured by Brandtboat for Atlantic Wind Transfer and are one of the first CTVs in the United States. (Photo: Atlantic Wind Transfers)

Dozens of CTVs are expected to be built as part of a new Jones Law-compliant fleet needed to support the construction and long-term service of new offshore wind farms. “The CTV market is divided into two demand drivers, first construction and test run, then operation and maintenance,” Lewis explained.

According to Lewis, during the construction / test run phase, developers are discussing the use of multiple CTVs (9-10 vessels depending on the project), but ultimately determining the number of vessels needed is a matter for each project. It’s not as easy as summing up the numbers you need. The construction phase will last for at most a few years before the CTV moves on to the next project, so the contract will be shorter and more spot charter-based. In addition, Lewis said developers are likely to cluster projects based on timeline and location so that assets such as CTVs can be shared across multiple projects in a more cost-effective way. rice field.

“We can’t say that the market will be a crew carrier with more than 200 people because we multiply 25 projects by 9 or 10 and move from project to project, project to project. Therefore, support for construction on the east coast. There may be 20-40 core vessels scattered around the area, “says Lewis.

The cluster approach is carried over to the decades of operation / maintenance phase of the project. The Lewis and World Energy Report have identified nine clusters out of 25 planned projects currently in the pipeline.

Atlantic pioneer of the Block Island wind farm off Rhode Island. (Photo: Atlantic Wind Transfers)

However, unlike construction / test runs, operational / maintenance CTVs are project-based and long-term chartered. “Once the wind farm is up and running, it will run for 25 to 30 years before the waters are returned to the government. Maintenance crews will have to be there for 30 years,” Lewis said.

“We believe we can see 50-70 CTVs on the Mid-Atlantic coast and the east coast of the northeast, but we can’t say that it will be a long-term crew carrier of 50. No doubt from 30 in the long run. I think it will be 40. You just need them, but you can imagine that there are another 20-40 that will be available on a spot basis, “Lewis said.

Lewis added that CTV operational efficiency requires a “constant economies of scale” that mixes long-term charter vessels with other vessels in the spot market to cover dry docking and mechanical issues. rice field. “In the crew transfer market of the Gulf of Mexico oil and gas industry, if a boat goes down, all you have to do is call A, B, C and say,” Do you have a boat? ” There is always surplus capacity because of the volume, “says Lewis. “At this point, there is no surplus capacity for US offshore wind CTVs, and to be successful, we need a company to build a fleet of five or ten ships, as seen in European models.”

Built by Senesco Marine for its sister company WindServe Marine, WindServe Odyssey was launched in 2020. (Photo: WindServeMarine)

Who can build them?
“Currently, Blount can build about two CTVs a year,” said Marcia Blount, who said aluminum needs to build vessels under a covered space. “Blount plans to build another large hull store in the near future, which will increase annual production to four.”

In addition to Blount and Senesco, other established shipyards are also expected to enter the US CTV Arena. In 2020, the Netherlands-based Damen Shipyards Group stated that a version of the Fast Crew Supplier 2710 CTV modified for the US market was in principle approved (AIP) by ABS. US builders can then build the design under a license agreement.

A few yards along the US Gulf, which has a long history of building crew boats for the oil and gas industry, and even aluminum manufacturers on the west coast, could start supplying CTV for offshore wind. For the past few years, US-based SAFE boats have worked with UK-based Diverse Marine to drive the design of SAFE boats in the European market.Also, in August, a company introduced Diverse Marine’s CTV design and experience to the United States.

However, shipbuilders like Blount in the northeast and the Mid-Atlantic will probably make most of their first CTV orders given their proximity to planned projects and their preference for “local content” built into many developments. Will win. In October, Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding / Duclos Corporation, in Somerset, Massachusetts, announced that it had won an order to build a CTV designed by Incat Crowther for Mayflower Wind, the developer of offshore wind farms in the United States. “Gladding-Hearn’s location and experienced team are ready to serve the offshore wind market. We have been working to make that happen since the early days of Cape Wind. I’m happy to finally bear fruit, “said Peter Duclos, President of Glading-Hearn.

Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding builds Mayflower Wind CTV (Image: Glading-Hearn Shipbuilding / Duclos Corporation)

Blount Boats will be launched in November for American Offshore Services (AOS), a new market entry company co-owned by US-based marine services company SEA.OG Offshore and European CTV operator Northern Offshore Services (NOS). Announced that it has won an order to build four more CTVs. New construction of AOS will work as soon as it is delivered in 2023 and 2024. The company said it had won the first US contract to provide CTV and equipment during the construction of four different wind farms from the second quarter of 2023.

In the more established European market, where many CTVs have been used to service offshore wind farms for decades, operators have cleaner combustion to limit their environmental impact, We are increasingly focusing on more efficient power and propulsion solutions. This trend is expected to spread to other global markets, including the United States.

AOS’s new 99-foot G-Class aluminum catamaran is based on a NOSD-class design and features a Volvo Penta IPS propulsion system that can be easily upgraded to a hybrid at any time in the future. “This vessel is designed and planned with reserved space for all the components needed to simplify the work and time needed to achieve this future upgrade,” Blount said. increase. “Wind power plant developers are interested in incorporating green energy into ships as soon as possible. Hybrid / electrification is an option.”

Blount Boats has won a contract to build four new CTVs for American Offshore Services. (Image: BlountBoats)

AOSG class
Shipyard: Blount Boats
U.S. Coast Guard, Subchapter “L”
Trade area: all over the world
Total complement: 24 + crew
Displacement: 170 tons
Hull: Aluminum
Length oa: 30m
Width: 11m
Operational draft: 1.9m
Fuel oil capacity: 36,000 liters
Freshwater capacity: 3,000 liters
Fender Arrangement: NOS Fender
Communication: Satellite Internet / TV

Cargo handling
Maximum cargo capacity on deck: 40 tons
Deck Crane: Palfinger PK12002
Container (fwd): 8 x 10′
Container (rear): 2 x 10′
Rear deck area: 40㎡
Front deck area: 114㎡

Main machine and auxiliary machine
Main engine: 4 x Volvo Penta
Propulsion type: Volvo Penta IPS
Auxiliary engine: 2x caller

Navigation and communication equipment
Radar: Furuno
Elle.Chart system: Furuno
AIS: A2
GMDSS: Furuno
Orientation system: Furuno
GPS / DGPS: Simrad
Autopilot: Furuno
Depth sounder: solar music
Crew Finder: Furuno