Orsted U.S. ƶijϻ Wind has entered into an agreement with the offshore wind support services provider WindServe Marine LLC to construct a two purpose-built offshore crew transfer vessels (CTVs).
The first CTV will be built by US Workboats in Hubert, North Carolina and used for Orsted’s Coastal Virginia offshore wind farm, followed by subsequent service on northeast projects.
The second CTV will be built by WindServe’s affiliate shipyard, Senesco Marine, in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, specifically for Orsted’s and Eversource’s Revolution Wind project located off the southern New England coast.
CTVs are the workboats that carry workers to and from offshore wind towers for construction, maintenance and operations, and the newbuilds will be the second and third of their type in America.
The first boat is already under construction at U.S. Workboats and will be delivered next year.
Both WindServe and Senesco are owned by Reinauer Transportation, which has been involved in the U.S. East Coast maritime industry for nearly 100 years.
The CTVs will high-speed aluminum catamarans built to a custom design from U.K. based BMT Group, and will be built specifically for U.S. East Coast sea conditions. BMT has extensive offshore wind experience and a large portfolio of offshore wind vessels, with 49 CTVs currently operating in Europe.
The vessels will be classed with DNV GL and will be the first offshore wind vessels built in the United States to class requirements.