Ørsted and Louisiana-based vessel builder Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO) have christened what the companies dub the first-ever American-built, owned and crewed offshore wind service operations vessel (SOV).
The ECO EDISON vessel is set to play a part in the operation and maintenance of Ørsted and Eversource’s South Fork Wind, Revolution Wind and Sunrise Wind projects.
The SOV was built at in-house shipyards in Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida, with vessel components sourced from 34 states. The 262-foot long liveaboard SOV will serve as a floating, year-round homebase for 60 offshore wind turbine technicians. It is set to be powered by two Cat 3512E engines from Caterpillar Marine.
“The Gulf Coast region is playing a huge role in the growing U.S. offshore wind supply chain, using their decades of experience to deliver more homegrown American energy and serving as one example of Ørsted’s more than $20 billion of investments into the United States,” says David Hardy, group EVP and CEO Americas at Ørsted.
“Thank you to Edison Chouest for delivering this milestone: building the first American-made service operations vessel. Our team can’t wait to put her in service, with state-of-the-art safety technologies and features to ensure comfort at sea. We’re grateful to Leader Scalise and his wife, Jennifer, and Congressman Carter for joining the festivities this weekend to ready the ECO EDISON for her work advancing American energy.”
