Incat Crowther wins CTV design contracts in the USA
Incat Crowther announced the award of a three-vessel order for WINDEA CTV LLC a US operator of offshore Crew Transfer Vessels (CTVs). Two of the CTVs will be built by St Johns Shipbuilding in Florida and one will be built by Gulf Craft in Louisiana.
The WINDEA CTV fleet is owned and operated by MidOcean Wind LLC and Hornblower Wind, LLC. (a member of Hornblower Group), with technical and operational support from WINDEA Offshore shareholder Ems Maritime Offshore GmbH, which operates a fleet of CTVs in the European market with more than 10 years of experience. MidOcean brings a 40+ year track record of U.S. Jones Act ship-owning in various vessel classes. Hornblower’s global footprint includes operating more than 150 vessels on the Northeast coast and providing full value-chain marine services, including design, build, delivery, maintenance, and operations services for clients across government, municipal, military, and private sectors.
This partnership is well positioned to build and operate a large fleet of CTVs that will be needed to serve the ongoing, rapid expansion of offshore wind power in the Northeast and across the United States.
All three vessels will initially be chartered by GE on the Vineyard Wind Offshore wind farm 15 miles off the coast of Massachusetts.
The vessels, which are 30m in length, are based on well-proven CTV’s developed by Incat Crowther. They feature a large foredeck with a 23 t.m knuckle boom crane and container securing lugs offering exceptional flexibility. The vessels incorporate Incat Crowther’s patented Resilient Bow Technology minimising boat landing impact forces. As is common with all Incat Crowther CTV’s, the vessels have a deadweight capability in excess of 50 tonnes.
A resiliently mounted superstructure offers excellent comfort for both technicians and crew with six crew berths provided in above deck staterooms. Other notable features include a large wet room and stores warehouse, fully-featured bathrooms and a discreet mess area. Workshop and utility spaces in the hulls are immediately accessible from the cabin.
The vessels are to be propelled by quad Volvo IPS propulsion units driven by Volvo DI13 main engines. They are fully hybrid-ready, meaning the integration of the hybrid system is completely accommodated in the design. This includes dedicated voids for batteries, reserved cabling space and battery removal hatches.
The vessels will be designed and built under Bureau Veritas class and comply with US Coastguard CFR 46 Subchapter L regulations.
Ed Dudson, Managing Director of Incat Crowther Europe said “this order is the result of a significant joint development between Incat Crowther and the WINDEA CTV partners starting back in 2019. It’s great to have multiple vessels building for what I am sure will be a very successful operation.”
