Offshore Wind

Bill introduced to expand offshore wind training

The Lilligrund wind farm off Sweden. Siemens photo

On Tuesday, Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., and three other senators introduced legislation to create a grant program for offshore wind educational and career training.

The legislation would direct the Department of Energy to work with stakeholders to identify the offshore wind industry’s educational and career training needs before setting up a grant program to address those needs. The grants could be used for a variety of activities, including current worker training, training in conjunction with...

https://www.workboat.com/news/offshore/bill-introduced-to-expand-offshore-wind-training/

BMT offshore wind vessel has a whale workaround

Two crew transfer boats will be built for offshore wind developer Ørsted. Ørsted rendering

Designers of crew transfer vessels (CTVs) for offshore wind energy face a number of challenges – starting with the core mission of delivering workers in speed and comfort to turbines at sea.

In the emerging U.S. offshore wind industry there’s another unique demand: working safely around migration routes of the highly endangered northern right whale.

“It’s something we’ve not come across yet in Europe as we don’t have this right whale issue,” said James Lewis, project manager for specialized ship...

https://www.workboat.com/news/offshore/bmt-offshore-wind-vessel-has-a-whale-workaround/

Next-gen offshore wind vessel will lift 3,000 tons

The wind turbine installation vessel Voltaire will have heavy-lift capacility over 3,000 tons to handle the coming generation of bigger offshore turbines. Jan De Nul Group rendering

A European marine engineering company has ordered an offshore wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV) with double the deck space of its existing vessels and a crane to lift more than 3,000 tons.

The Luxembourg-based Jan De Nul Group will have the offshore jack-up Voltaire built by Cosco Shipping Heavy Industry in China for delivery in 2022. The design is a portent of the much bigger, more powerful wind-driven generators that are coming.

“The global offshore wind industry is developing the next...

https://www.workboat.com/news/offshore/next-gen-offshore-wind-vessel-will-lift-3000-tons/

Congress wants inventory of vessels able to work in the offshore wind industry

Deepwater Wind used the Norwegian construction vessel Brave Tern along with U.S. liftboats from Montco Offshore (at left) to build the Block Island Wind Farm off Rhode Island in 2016. Deepwater Wind photo.

Evidence keeps piling up that offshore wind is developing into a truly viable energy resource as wind turbine technology advances, the economies of scale along the supply chain become more favorable and Uncle Sam, joined by several once-reluctant state governments, are all advocating and approving offshore wind projects as part of their energy plans.

The workboat industry has been watching these developments closely, with some shipbuilders developing plans to build specialty vessels, and tug and...

https://www.workboat.com/news/offshore/congress-wants-inventory-of-vessels-able-to-work-in-the-offshore-wind-industry/

Ørsted, Reinauer’s WindServe to build offshore wind crew vessels

Two crew transfer boats will be built for offshore wind developer Ørsted. Ørsted rendering

Two new U.S. flag crew transfer vessels (CTVs) for the emerging East Coast offshore wind industry will be built for wind power developer Ørsted and offshore support services provider WindServe Marine LLC, the companies said in a joint announcement Wednesday.

To be built by U.S. Workboats, Hubert, N.C., and Senesco Marine, North Kingstown, R.I., the BMT Group-designed vessels will be the second and third in U.S. service, following the Atlantic Pioneer, built by Blount Boats, Warren, R.I., and...

https://www.workboat.com/news/offshore/orsted-reinauers-windserve-to-build-offshore-wind-crew-vessels/

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