The New Bedford Foss Marine Terminal (NBFMT) has opened its first deep water berth after two years of demolition and construction.
The berth is part of Phase II of the project and was designed to accommodate offshore wind service vessels. A 300-foot bulkhead has been installed, and dredging has occurred to further improve the use of the berth for both domestic and international vessels.
“It’s great to be part of a project that is transforming a derelict power generating station into a state-of-the-art offshore wind hub able to support projects here in the U.S. Northeast,” says Andrew Saunders, president of NBFMT.
“All of the old, outdated buildings are now gone and the recently completed waterside improvements position us to be the gateway to the offshore wind lease blocks. The opening of this new deep-water berth is just the beginning with more waterside and land side improvements that will occur over the next few years.”
The 27-acre private terminal, owned by Foss Offshore Wind and local business leaders, has progressed through collaborations with city, state and federal agencies, notably New Bedford mayor Jonathan Mitchell, the New Bedford city council, the Port of New Bedford, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC). MassCEC so far has contributed $15 million to the project.
In order to complete the deep-water berth, the City of New Bedford facilitated state, local and private funds to dredge 80,000 cubic yards of contaminated material from the waters just off the site. This work was part of the City’s Phase V Dredge Program allowing for the removal of legacy contamination from decades past.
In all, the Phase V Dredge Program is set to remove and encapsulate 500,000 cubic yards of contaminated material from New Bedford harbor. When complete, the terminal will boast four large individual berths and a floating pier system that can accommodate 11 offshore wind construction and O&M vessels.
