The keel has been laid for the United States' first plug-in hybrid service operation vessel (SOV) at Edison Chouest ƶijϻ's (ECO) LaShip Shipyard in Houma, La.
Louisiana-based ECO has a to operate the SOV for Empire ƶijϻ Wind, a joint venture between Equinor and BP, starting form the mid-2020s.
The 262-foot-long vessel will accommodate up to 60 wind turbine technicians for operations and maintenance work at the Empire Wind 1 and Empire Wind 2 offshore wind farms off the coast of Long Island, N.Y.
Homeported at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal (SBMT) in New York, the plug-in hybrid SOV will be certified to EPA Tier 4 emissions standards and capable of sailing partly on battery power. The Jones Act compliant vessel will be U.S.-flagged and classed by the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS).
Empire Wind is located 15-30 miles southeast of Long Island and spans 80,000 acres, with water depths of between approximately 75 and 135 feet. The project's two phases, Empire Wind 1 and 2, have a total installed capacity of more than 2 gigawatts (GW).
ECO is currently building another SOV, , which it will deliver in 2024 and operate for Ørsted and Eversource's joint venture offshore wind portfolio, including South Fork Wind, Revolution Wind and Sunrise Wind in the U.S. Northeast.
