First home-made US offshore wind farm vessel made a splash

Last year in May, Rhode Island Fast Ferry signed an exclusive long-term Crew Transfer Vessel Charter Agreement with Deepwater Wind, LLC, the company that is currently building the first offshore wind farm in the United States off the coast of Rhode Island.

Rhode Island Fast Ferry's subsidiary Atlantic Wind Transfers is therefore officially the first US Offshore Wind Farm Support company and their task is to provide transfer services to the Block Island Wind Farm. They are currently building the first purpose-built Crew Transfer Vessel in the United States and they shared the happy news and photos via their social media sites:

„Our Offshore Wind Crew Transfer Vessel is officially floating! On Wednesday (last week) the workboat was lowered down the railway at low tide and left to wait for the high tide to roll in and float it over to the dock. The large mast was installed the following day so now the shipyard can begin to do the final electronic connections.“

The company has spent the last weeks pulling all the wire cable through for the machinery and will next finish the interior of the vessel: seats, the AV System, TV's. Final electronic connections and the Palfinger Crane have to be installed, too. Furthermore, the life saving equipment will be put into place before some weeks of sea-trials will begin.

„In just over 3 months we will start transporting construction workers, GE technicians & cargo to/from the Block Island Wind Farm for Deepwater Wind“, Atlantic Wind Transfers reports joyfully.

The construction of the Block Island offshore wind farm is due to be finished later this year. It is the first offshore wind farm in the US. It will consist of five turbines located in the waters off Rhode Island in the Atlantic Ocean.