Danish Maersk Supply Service and the US vessel owner and operator Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO) are partnering on the construction and operation of a feeder vessel spread designed for Maersk Supply Service’s wind installation vessel (WIV), currently being built in Singapore.
The feeder spread, which includes two tugs and two barges, will be built by Bollinger Shipyards, the largest privately owned shipyard group in the US, and owned and operated by ECO.
Scheduled for delivery in 2026, the newbuild feeder vessels will transport wind turbine components or foundations to installation sites where the wind installation vessel (WIV) is performing successive installations, with no need for the WIV to leave an offshore project site to transport components, allowing for faster installation of offshore wind farms, according to Maersk Supply Service.
Furthermore, the locking and stabilising mechanism between the WIV and a feeder barge will render installations far less dependent on weather conditions and thus reduce the number of operating days required to install a wind farm offshore, the company says.
“Maersk Supply Service’s new installation concept can make offshore wind farm installations significantly faster with estimated efficiency gains of 30%. The partnership with ECO makes this new technology available for the U.S. offshore wind market enabling faster offshore wind installations in the U.S.,” said Christian M. Ingerslev , CEO at Maersk Supply Service.
The solution using feeder vessels and a WIV that stays at an offshore wind project site aims to open access to a greater number of US ports logistically, the Danish company says.
Being US-built, -owned and -flagged, the feeder tugs and barges ferrying wind turbine components between ports and offshore construction sites are also compliant with the US Jones Act.
Maersk ordered the offshore wind installation vessel at the Sembcorp Marine shipyard in Singapore in early 2022, after its subsidiary Maersk Supply Service signed a firm contract for the installation of the Empire Wind 1 and 2 offshore wind farms in the US.
The WIV was also selected to install wind turbines at the Beacon Wind offshore wind farm in the US.
The first steel for the WIV at Sembcorp Martine’s shipyard was cut in October 2022 .
The vessel will be equipped with Steerprop’s propulsion package, with its jacking units, load transfer system, and crane to be provided by NOV. The WIV design work has been supported by the class society ABS.
The wind installation vessel is scheduled to be delivered in 2025.