Mayflower Wind has signed an agreement with a US shipbuilder for the delivery of a Jones Act-compliant hybrid crew transfer vessel.
The Ocean Winds and Shell joint venture has lined up Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding/Duclos Corporation of Somerset, Massachusetts, for the specification, design, and manufacture the vessel.
The design includes the use of Lithium-Ion battery energy storage to create a hybrid vessel that will be a bridge to full electrification, said the developer.
The multi-party agreement meanwhile includes other maritime collaborators from across the globe including Incat Crowther (Australia/UK/Lafayette, LA), BAR Technologies (UK), Corvus Energy (Norway), and ABS (Spring, TX).
The contract will proceed if Mayflower is awarded a contract under the latest Massachusetts procurement for offshore wind.
“Mayflower Wind aims to develop the most innovative, fuel-efficient CTV built in the United States,” said Michael Brown, CEO of Mayflower Wind.
“Ensuring that this vessel is constructed at a shipyard in Somerset is a big boost to the Massachusetts maritime economy and launches this shipyard toward a new and growing market.”