Yes I know.
Ugland is another Norwegian Shipping company with operations in Canada:
Maersk Supply is also active in the Canadian offshore market:
https://www.nor47business.com/en/company/Maersk-Supply-Service-Canada-Ltd
As is several other European companies
The APL and MLL ships are US flag but foreign built
Foreign built, flagged and crewed offshore wind installation vessels have already been working in the US. So Jones Act not much of a problem.
The US passes out Jones Act waivers and work visas for foreign crew in the oil patch like candy. Apparently offshore wind expects the same.
There is a process by which foreign built vessels can be ânaturalizedâ into the US. It takes an act of Congress for each vessel. Itâs not common, but it is occasionally done.
The US Government can buy foreign vessels and then sell them to American corporations, they then become Jones Act qualified.
If foreign built, flag and crewed vessels can operate I. Offshore wind, certainly they still could if reflagged US with US or mixed crews.
yes yes, that is what I meant, foreign built, thank you
Agree. So what is your problem if some foreign vessels do so in the future?
That is assuming that there are some willing sellers of suitable vessels and sufficient trained and qualified crews to man them. Arenât there already a shortage for the existing US fleet?
They have to go to Canada to load up the equipment they are there to assemble into working wind turbines, or do risky offshore transfer from barges to avoid infringement of the JA and OCS rules.
Note; The WTIVs are jacked up when operating to form a steady platform. No place to moor a barge alongside)
Iâll challenge a crew shortage in 2 ways; talent and wages
Yes the maritime industry requires a lot of training and time, I understand it can take longer to be Captain than a Brain Surgeon, but we train soooo many people. There canât be a shortage of qualified labor in the US industry. John Konrad has reported many a time that the 7 academies together produce enough 3rd mates every year to replace every 3rd in the US fleet. And thatâs not even considering hawsepipers. Entry level ratings donât need much training so thereâs no talent barrier there.
Where are all the trained folks I describe? Its not a crew shortage its a wage shortage. Iâd quit sailing and work at McDonalds serving burgers if they paid me $500,000 a year to do it.
What companies mean when they say âlabor shortageâ in this context is they just donât want to train or pay US seafarers. its bs
These types of ships requires more than just min. USCG and/or STCW license for a vessel of similar size carrying cargo from A to B.
The WTIVs have DP-3 Class, are selfâelevating and have a main crane of up to 2000+ M.tonnes SWL
Here is what MAY be coming to the US market (if you donât manage to kill the goose before the eggs are laid):
The work they carry out is nothing like what is thaught in any Maritime Academy, or experienced on a trading ship, OSV, or Drill Ship/Drilling Rig.
The OSVs may not be as complicated as the WTIVs, but still a far cry from most ships/OSVs:
Which is why offshore wind should be training Americans now in other markets. And why mixed crews would be needed initially.
Anything can be bought for the right price. Publicly listed companies ca be bought on the stock exchange through a hostile takeover. Just like Kjell Inge did with Aker.
If foreign companies donât want to reflag offshore wind vessels US and hire Americans, thatâs ok. They can stay home or go somewhere else.
The US put men on the Moon over 50 years ago. No one else has ever been able to do it. The US operates rovers on Mars. Europeans donât have the ability to do that.
The US is a high tech industrialized country that can certainly figure out how to build and operate offshore wind installation vessels.
The thing that is different about offshore wind in the US is that it is heavily subsidized by US taxpayers and more importantly, US households paying higher electric bills.
If US offshore wind is not going to be reserved for American workers, higher taxes and electric rates cannot be justified, and offshore wind should not be built.
Thatâs what theyâre going to be doing.
Recruiters are advertising East Coast tugboat master and mate jobs supporting offshore wind construction for $450 to $550 a day (with a $500 cap on travel expenses). Thatâs at least a decade behind the times in the Northeast.
They are not going to get anyone, at least not anyone thatâs any good, at those rates.
I donât think they want to hire anyone. I think they just want to âproveâ that American mariners are not available so that they can eliminate the tug and barge work and get Jones Act waivers for the construction vessels to load in the US.
One can only hope that our government is not that stupid.
I donât know what those tugs are supposed to do but I know at least some contracts are signed and the tug crew makes quite a bit more than what you posted.
I just posed what the recruiter advertised.
Yes as long as there are no JA compliant WTIVs they donât have much choice but to risk life and limbs of crews and damages to both vessels and equipment.
Anybody familiar with J/U operations know that the legs are designed for vertical load not bending and are highly susceptible to damages from any impact forces. (Luckily WTIVs have 4 or more legs, so they are less likely to topple over if one leg fail, than their 3-legged cousins)
To hold an ordinary deck cargo barge in position within crane reach and away from the legs are no easy task; Even in good conditions and with multiple ASD-tugs in attendance it is difficult.
With conventional twin-screw tugs, it is even more difficult.
With fixed pitch props and clutches it becomes almost impossible for mer mortals.
PS> From the OWFs that was reported to suffer delays it is not too far to Halifax, though.
The point is: the Jones Act is not the only limitation needed. No more foreign vessels operating from Canada or the Bahamas.
If offshore wind is being built and paid for by American taxpayers and electric rate payers, it must be built by American labor. Otherwise, do Not build it.
As the wind turbines become larger in capacity they also gets physically larger and heavier, the supporting marine vessels has to develop to keep up.
The installation vessel segment has thus split into two types:
Foundation Installation Vessels are mostly floaters, equipped with large cranes, clamps and high capacity âhammersâ to drive monopods:
The WTIVs have become larger, with larger and taller cranes, able to operate in deeper waters than before. This is necessary as the turbines has become heavier, the towers taller and the blades longer.The need for a stabil work platform has only become more important:
https://www.cadeler.com/en/vessels/x-class-vessels/
Since the OWFs are moving further offshore and away from staging bases, feeder vessels are sometime used to bring the various component to the WTIVs.These vessel are purpose built to be able to safely transport the various component in a position best suited for offshore lifting and equipped with ultra-small dynamically positioning (DP) footprint for safe distance from the WTIV legs during the transfer:
The transport and installation of Substations are more similar to what has been common for oil & gas installations in shallow waters. It has been mostly been performed by existing SSCVs:
New solutions are coming fast and furious:
Maybe soon to be seen on a US built WTIV?
This solution doesnât need a specialized vessel:
PS> That âregular OSVâ will probably need to have a fairly large AHC crane and DP-2 class.
US and German Firms Unveil Jones Act-Compliant Offshore Wind Farm Installation Solution:
Does that mean that only the ATB need to be JA compliant, bringing the component out to a foreign built WTIV that stays offshore, yet eliminating the tricky and risky bit of transferring heavy items at sea?
The US has mariners who work on liftboats, and are there no dp3 vessels in the us fleet? There are also US nationals who work on foreign vessels, chances are there are 1 or 2 that have been working on wind farm vessels and would come over here to work. Whoâs to say the US canât figure it out? Someone figured out how the first dp3 vessel, jackup rig, wtiv etc. works with no experience. Silly to assume people living in North America are unable to learn how to operate wind farm vessels
Since you are not Norwegian, you just donât understand. Norwegians know everything, no one else knows shit.
Well, there is one Norwegian that admits the Chinese know something.
Americans? Fuggitaboutit !!!
(Unfortunately, I donât know how to say that it Norwegian).
Nobody say âthe USâ canât figure out anything, but why reinvent something that already has been invented?
Why not do like the rest of the world did 30,40,50 years ago when the Offshore Oil & Gas industry spread from the GoM to the North Sea, S.E.Asia and other places?
They learnt from the Americans, then modified and improved on the metodes and equipment to suit local needs and conditions.
Donât worry, neither do I, so fuggit about it!!!:
https://www.tiktok.com/@original_fuggetaboutit/video/7079557896660405509?is_from_webapp=v1&item_id=7079557896660405509
