Crane for US-built WTIV Charybdis Heads to Texas

The crane for the first ever U.S.-built wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV) is on its way to America.

The 2,200mt Huisman leg encircling crane has been loaded onto BigLift Shipping's Happy Star for shipment to the Keppel AmFELS shipyard in Brownsville, Texas, where it will be installed on Charybdis, a WTIV being built for Blue Ocean Energy Marine, a Dominion Energy company. The heavy lift ship recently left China, according to AIS ship tracking data.

Once delivered, Huisman North America, based in Rosenberg, Texas, will commission and test the new crane at the Keppel AmFELS yard.

According to the manufacturer, the crane comes with a fully electrically drive system, resulting in high positioning accuracy, reduced maintenance and higher reliability. It also features a unique Lambda boom design ensuring a lightweight and stiff design, and stiff construction of the 130-meter-long boom leading to reduced motion at the crane tip. Its small tail swing allows for optimized utilization of free deck space.

Scheduled to be sea-ready later this year, Charybdis is the U.S.' first and only known Jones Act-compliant WTIV under construction, slated to enter service as the nation ramps up a growing number of large-scale offshore wind developments.

Upon delivery, the vessel will first be deployed out of New London, Conn. to support the construction of Revolution Wind and Sunrise Wind offshore wind farms, both of which are being developed jointly by Ørsted and Eversource. 

The charter terms will allow the vessel to support the construction of Dominion Energy's 2.6-gigawatt Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project off the coast of Virginia Beach, which is expected to be completed in 2026.