Developers and their contractors working on the first wave of US offshore wind farms need to know they have proven vessel designs at their disposal, according to Chartwell Marine.
The Southampton-based firm has come up with next-generation crew transfer vessel design that is also suitable for the US as well as European market.
“Given the influence of the Jones Act on the production and cost of new vessels – plus stringent environmental and operational requirements – there needs to be a really strong business case for investment,” says Chartwell’s managing director Andy Page.
He says the US maritime supply chain is well-placed to respond to this, and says it would also benefit from taking proven vessel concepts from the European sector, refining these and applying them in US waters.
Chartwell Marine’s latest CTV design, Chartwell 24, has been developed from talks with CTV operators, wind farm owners and turbine makers, responding to lessons learned in construction as well as operations and maintenance phases of European projects.
The latest design can deliver safety, reliability and availability in testing conditions, with four-engine propulsion, positioning it to help operators meet US emissions standards, such as the Environment Protection Agency’s Tier 4 air quality rules.