Anyone know why Vineyard Wind is using foreign flagged vessels?
Let us see if the US can develop the industry enough to support domestically flagged install ships. Here in N Germany there are multiple turbine, blade and tower manufacturing facilities and numerous install and maintenance vessels. It’s a lot of work, well paid and for many skill / training levels.
I hope it goes well in the US, but one can only be guardedly optimistic given the social and political dysfunction seen across the land.
As for the installed windmills, they are interesting. We see 6 from our living room ( abt 3 km away ) and they cause no offense at that distance but one hears them if within 500 meters. They make great weather vanes … today light SE winds.
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Because there’s no US flag vessels that can do that job.
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Even if there were US flag vessels, the foreign owned electric companies and offshore wind developers are not required to use US vessels.
They have always intended to use their own national, or low cost Eastern European officers and Filipino or other lowest cost mariners and industrial crew.
This is unlikely to change unless these foreign interests become unable to buy US Congressmen anymore as a result of campaign finance reform or other events.
We are being screwed by our own government for the benefit of foreigners and their lobbyists.
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That’s laughable!
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Really? What US flag vessel are you aware of that is set up for or can be converted to install mono piles right now?
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And Germany is what the world should strive to be regarding social and political function? How are those 3-4x higher in 2 years electricity bills treating you? What about outlawing natural gas fired boilers and mandating heat pumps in all new residences?
You’ve got to be kidding, they’re effectively just jack up rigs with big cranes. Pretty sure any old bayou boat company could do that job if they wanted to.
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Ummm, Orion is a 700’ DP vessel and Bokalift 2 is a converted drillship. Nothing at all like a jack up. I’m all for getting something US flag doing this work, but it requires a vessel that can hold station, has deck space for the piles, and the stability for a massive crane. Again, a jack up is none of those things, and neither is an OSV.
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You already answered your own post.
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Point being the US has already or had the capability to produce a DP2-3 vessels that can “hold station”, with a big ass crane. MPSV’s are not new technology. Yes, I was oversimplifying but come on now…
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I don’t care if it’s foreign built or foreign Flag, as long as American crew is phased in, and foreign crew is phased out as fast as possible.
They should have trained American crew on foreign vessels and projects years ago to prepare for US offshore wind, but they didn’t because they have never had any intention of employing Americans.
US offshore wind is subsidized by US taxpayer and US electric ratepayers.
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Crew shouldn’t be an issue, take the Bokalift 2 for example, just arrived in Rhode Island recently for installation work. It was Transocean’s drillship Jack Ryan for 20 years before the conversion. Had plenty of American crew during that time, both marine and drilling. And I’d think setting a mono pile can’t be too different on a macro technical level to installing a wellhead or setting a tree. I agree cross-training would be a necessity, but I’d think crew integration could start now.
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Exactly! Couldn’t have said it better
Their strategy was to wait as long as possible and not invest in US ships or crews then say at the last moment there no US vessels or crew available …. Then of course nothing is going to stop the green energy agenda. Long story short Americans are going to get screwed!
So much for revitalizing the historic maritime culture of the Northeast!
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Oh We’ve got stoopid here too.
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