Offshore

The first US-flagged offshore wind vessel is christened

The first US-flagged offshore wind vessel is christened
(Credit: Orsted)

Ørsted announced the christening of the first American-built, owned, and crewed offshore wind service operations vessel (SOV), The ECO EDISON.

The ECO EDISON, officially christened Saturday at the Port of New Orleans, is touted as the first U.S.-flagged offshore wind SOV. The vessel will play a part in the operation and maintenance of Ørsted and Eversource’s South Fork Wind, Revolution Wind, and Sunrise Wind projects.

The ECO EDISON was built by more than 600 workers – across nearly 1 million work hours – at ECO in-house shipyards in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida, with components of the vessel sourced from 34 states, from Alabama to West Virginia. Louisiana-based vessel builder Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO) performed the shipbuilding.

“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,” said 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.”

The 262-foot-long liveaboard ECO EDISON will serve as a floating, year-round home base for 60 American offshore wind turbine technicians, who will work at sea over the life of the wind farms, servicing and maintaining the wind turbines. The ECO EDISON will be powered by two Cat 3512E engines from Houston-based Caterpillar Marine.

Ørsted said the ECO EDISON’s design is focused on passenger safety and comfort, maneuverability, extended offshore endurance, and reduced emissions. It includes features like a “walk to work” motion-compensated gangway that allows technicians to access the wind turbines. A smaller, so-called “daughter” craft onboard can be deployed to maneuver crew across the wind farms.

“We’re incredibly proud that our shipyards, engineers, and more than 600 shipbuilders have now delivered a U.S.-first vessel that will support offshore wind energy for years to come for our trusted partners at Ørsted,” said Mr. Gary Chouest, President of Edison Chouest Offshore. “Just as several of our vessels supported the construction of the first utility-scale offshore wind farm, South Fork Wind Farm, so too will the ECO EDISON lead the way as this first-ever American-made offshore wind SOV.”

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