CREST, a joint venture between Crowley and ESVAGT, has picked Norway-headquartered HAV Design to develop a service operation vessel (SOV) destined for the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project in the US.
The newbuild hybrid vessel will be HAV 832 SOV design and will be constructed by the Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.
HAV Design has not disclosed the value of its contract.
The contract marks the US breakthrough for HAV Design, which the company said is the first European ship designer to develop an SOV for the US market.
The ABS-class vessel will be 88 metres long and 17.6 metres wide. The SOV will be able to carry 20 crew and 60 special personnel and will sail under the US flag once it enters into service in 2026.
“This is the 12 th SOV that ESVAGT is developing together with HAV Design. We know the challenges of getting personnel safely from the vessel to the turbines, and our long-term collaboration with HAV Design is part of this competence base”, said Kristian Ole Jakobsen , DCEO in ESVAGT.
Following completion, the newbuild SOV will go on charter for Dominion Energy to provide support during construction of its 2.6 GW CVOW which will include 176 wind turbines provided by Siemens Gamesa.
Once fully constructed, the project is expected to provide enough clean energy to power up to 660,000 homes at rated wind speed, avoiding more than five million tonner per year of carbon emissions compared to fossil fuel-based power generation, said CREST.
US-based Crowley and Danish shipowner ESVAGT established a joint venture to bolster purpose-built Jones Act vessel availability in support of the emerging offshore wind market in the US.
Consistent with the requirements of the Jones Act, CREST will be the owner of the vessel, Crowley will operate the SOV with US mariners, while ESVAGT will provide technical advice on the design, construction, and operation of these vessels.