Maersk and Edison Chouest team up for new US offshore wind installation solution
Danish shipper claims feeder barge solution will cut costs by 30% and allow more American ports to join the sector ramp
Danish global shipping pacesetter Maersk has teamed up with Texas-based Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO) for US-flagged barges and tugs to advance its novel installation solution for the American offshore wind market.
The American offshore wind sector grapples with the constraints of the Jones Act that forbids foreign-flagged vessels, including wind turbine installation vessels (WTIV), from calling in at consecutive US ports or points on the outer continental shelf, including a turbine foundation.
This forces developers to employ feeder barges to deliver components to the WTIV, a process widely seen as costlier and riskier, but which Maersk claims will actually save money and gain efficiencies.
This “new installation concept can make offshore wind farm installations significantly faster with estimated efficiency gains of 30%,” said Christian Ingerslev, CEO at Maersk Supply Service.
“The partnership with ECO makes this new technology available for the US offshore wind market enabling faster offshore wind installations,” he added.
The purpose-built feeder solution includes two tugs and two barges to be delivered in 2026. They will be owned and operated by ECO and constructed by Bollinger Shipyards - the US' largest privately-owned shipyard group.
“This partnership facilitates expansion of our existing footprint in the US offshore wind industry,” says Mr. Dino Chouest, executive vice president of ECO.
Maersk said the solution aims to open access to a greater number of US ports and will render installations far less dependent on weather conditions, thereby reducing the number of operating days required to install a wind park.
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