Cosco and F&G develop Jones Act-compliant WTIV
Technology offers flexibility for vessel owners to operate in US waters
Chinese yard Cosco Shipping Qidong Offshore (Cosco) has reached an agreement with US offshore design house Friede & Goldman (F&G) over a vessel for the US wind market.
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The new design will tap F&G’s integrated wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV) solution with feeder capabilities using the patented BargeRack technology for offshore wind installation.
With the new scheme, vessel owners have the flexibility to operate in US and non-US waters worry-free of Jones Act compliance.
BargeRack technology, which eliminates motion between the installation vessel and the feeder vessel, removes expensive motion compensation equipment from the equation.
The WTIV lifts the barge with wind turbine components as it elevates, optimising maximum uptime by extending the operational weather window.
The scheme provides strong operability and ensures safety there is no need to build specialised feeder barges with high-tech equipment on board.
F&G will provide the basic design for the WTIV, which has just won approval in principal from ABS, while Cosco will improve the documentation for the bidding package for the tender to be launched later.
Cosco is reviewing the basic design. Once an order is secured, the Chinese contractor will provide the detailed design.
The novel WTIV comes in two models. The Windsetter 115 CHI model features a 111.5 metres by 55-metres by 11-metres vessel, which is designed to accommodate 100 people and is able to work in water depths up to 60 metres and lift turbines up to 15 megawatts. The Huisman-provided crane will have a lifting capacity of 1200 tonnes.
The Windsetter 115 CHI model is designed so the feeder rack can be removed for operations outside the US market.
It has a 19,500-tonne payload for seven turbines with capacity of 15 MW each and can work in water depths of 70 metres. The vessel is 156 metres long, 60 metres wide and 12 metres tall, and the crane’s lifting capacity is 3000 tonnes.
The Jones Act is US maritime legislation requiring vessels used in certain aspects of “coast-wise” trade such as the transportation of people and merchandise, and industrial activities within the US to be US-built, US-flagged, US citizen-owned and US citizen-operated.
According to a report by the US Government Accountability Office, a Jones Act-compliant WTIV would carry components from a US port to the project location and also install the turbines.
Alternatively, a foreign-flagged WTIV could install the turbines with the components carried to the offshore location from US ports by Jones Act-compliant feeder vessels.
The world’s first Jones Act-compliant WTIV, named Charybdis, is being fabricated at the Keppel AmFELS shipyard in Brownsville, Texas, for Dominion Energy.
The 144-metre vessel, designed by GustoMSC, can handle turbines of 12 MW or greater. It will also be capable of installing foundations for wind turbines and other heavy lifting work.