Great Lakes Inks Another Rock Installation Contract Offshore US

December 5, 2023, by Adnan Memija

US-based Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation (Great Lakes) has been awarded a rock installation contract to perform subsea rock cable protection on an offshore wind project off the East Coast of the US.

Great Lakes will use the first Jones Act-compliant subsea rock installation vessel, the Acadia, currently under construction at the Philly Shipyard in the US to execute the project.

The project scope includes procurement of rock from the US supply chain, transportation to and from the project site, and subsea installation of the rock to support the wind farm’s infrastructure.

Operations on the project, which remains subject to the client’s final investment decision (FID), are expected to commence in 2025 and are planned to continue into 2026.

The company says it will be generating local content, employment, and economic activity in the US by purchasing rocks from domestic quarries and loading the rock at US ports.

This is Great Lakes’ third rock installation contract in the US. The company’s prior contracts have been for subsea rock installation for foundation stabilisation, and this contract represents a new utilisation for its planned vessel, Great Lakes said.

In May last year, Equinor and BP picked a consortium between Van Oord and Great Lakes for subsea rock installation works for their offshore wind farms in New York.