Page 34: of Marine News Magazine (March 2022)

33 35

Feature

Shipbuilding

Ørsted and Eversource have taken the lead, contracting delivery in 2023. In another ? rst, Great Lakes Dredge & with Edison Chouest Offshore for construction of an SOV Dock recently announced that it is moving ahead with the at several of its yards in the Gulf Coast. Crowley, having construction of a Jones Act compliant wind farm scour teamed up with established European offshore wind player protection/rock installation vessel, which is being built at

ESVAGT, is awaiting the results of a bid and could be close Philly Shipyard for delivery in late 2024. The deal includes to announcing an SOV order. an option for a second vessel.

Facing an anticipated global shortage of wind turbine installation vessels (WTIV), Dominion Energy, the owner PASSENGER VESSELS of the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project, Business in U.S. passenger vessel construction was sol- has opted to order a Jones Act compliant WTIV—the ? rst id prior to COVID-19, but this sector was hit hard by ever—from Keppel AmFELS. Charybdis is scheduled for the coronavirus pandemic, and plans for new orders were shelved or in some cases totally scrapped. While it may be a long while until build activity returns to pre-2020 levels, there are glimmers of hope, such as U.S. river and coastal

Seabulk hybrid tugboat cruise shipping company American Cruise Lines’ recently

Spartan being launched at announced plan for 12 new identical sister ships to be built

MBB’s Coden, Ala. shipyard.

by Chesapeake Shipbuilding in Salisbury, Md. The ? rst two Project Blue ships are already under construction and are due for delivery in 2023.

Green vessel technologies like alternative fuels and electri? cation are also generating opportunities for U.S. shipyards and their suppliers. Notably, Bellingham, Wash. yard All American Marine recently completed SWITCH

Maritime’s Sea Change, the U.S.’ ? rst zero-emissions, hy- drogen fuel cell-powered, electric ferry. Washington State

Ferries’ next ? ve Olympic class ferries to be built by Vigor will be WSF’s ? rst hybrid-electric newbuilds, in line with plans to make America’s largest ferry ? eet emissions free by 2050. The ? rst vessel, Wishkah, is expected to enter service in 2024. Nearby, Skagit County Public Works and

Seattle-based vessel designer Glosten have developed an all-electric double-ended vehicle and passenger ferry to re- place the Guemes. A yard has yet to be selected. Glosten is also working with Seattle-based Bieker Boats to develop a carbon ? ber hydrofoil ferry. Elsewhere, the Alaska Marine

Highway System (AMHS) is in the process of selecting a

U.S. shipyard to build a Glosten-designed replacement for its 57-year-old ferry Tustamena. Also out for bid is a 190-foot hybrid-electric passenger/vehicle ferry designed by Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG) to operate between

Manhattan and Governors Island.

In more good news for ferry builders and their sup- pliers, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal

Transit Administration (FTA) recently awarded $45.3 mil-

Master Boat Builders 34 | MN March 2022