BMT said on Thursday it has been awarded a contract to design two crew transfer vessels (CTVs) to be deployed for Windserve Marine to service Ørsted’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project in the US.
BMT has designed the new 20-meter CTV specifically for East Coast conditions with maneuverability, performance and redundancy in mind while reaching a top speed in the region of 28 knots. The design is a fully-classed vessel ensuring the highest of build standards. Carrying 20 passengers, plus four crew, the first CTV will be delivered early next year and is already under construction, with the second earmarked for late 2020.
The vessels will be built at U.S. Workboats, in Hubert, N.C., and Senesco Marine, at North Kingstown, R.I.
James Lewis, Project Manager for Specialized Ship Design at BMT, comments, “We are hugely excited to be a part of this project. The U.S. offshore wind market is set for exponential growth and is in a unique position to benefit from the years of experience and lessons learned from wind farm operations in Europe.”
“BMT has been at the forefront of offshore wind farm service vessel designs as it has continuously worked with operators in the industry to develop vessels specific to industry requirements, introducing many game-changing innovations along the way. We intend to continue in the same vein and will be looking to evolve our designs and tailor them to the U.S. market, starting with this first vessel,” Lewis said.
The endangered North Atlantic right whales have been a key driver in the design of this vessel, culminating in the smallest quad jet wind farm vessel that BMT has ever designed. The custom vessel, designed with a reduced overall length, will operate safely and harmoniously with the whale communities within the North Atlantic’s seasonal management area locations. The resulting design offers performance and specification previously more akin to larger wind farm vessels.
Providing full support, BMT are very proud to be working alongside Windserve Marine and to be at the forefront in delivering CTVs to the U.S., to best service turbines safely and efficiently.