Massachusetts-based Fishing Partnership Support Services has announced that offshore wind developer Vineyard Wind LLC will be sponsoring upcoming safety training sessions in New Bedford and on Martha’s Vineyard to provide mariners with knowledge and skills to cope with and survive accidents at sea.
Because of Vineyard Wind’s support, the training sessions are being offered at no cost on March 8 and March 9 in New Bedford and on March 22 and March 23 in the village of Menemsha on Martha’s Vineyard.
Vineyard Wind, a 50/50 joint venture of Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and Avangrid Renewables, is seeking to build an offshore wind farm located 14 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard.
Fishing Partnership Support Services is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of commercial fishermen and their family members.
“The code of fishermen has always been to drop whatever they are doing to answer a mayday call from a mariner – any mariner – in distress,” comments J.J. Bartlett, president of Fishing Partnership Support Services. “It is in that spirit that we are working now with Vineyard Wind. We both want to do everything possible to protect the lives and safety of all of the men and women who make their living at sea.”
Erich Stephens, chief development officer of Vineyard Wind, adds, “We are intensely aware of the dangers of working offshore. These trainings, we hope, will be opportunities to build lasting, cross-industry bonds that help all of us to be safer on the water. Beyond these two events, Vineyard Wind is committed to seeking ways for commercial fishing and renewable energy to succeed together.”
Stephens commended Fishing Partnership Support Services for the work it does not only “to keep fishermen safe, but also to help fishing families with day-to-day needs while also looking to the future of those families and of our traditional community-based fishing industry.”
More information on the training can be found here.
