St. Johns Ship Building, Palatka, Fla., announced the delivery of the Windea Enterprise, the second of three Jones Act-compliant Incat Crowther 98'5'x32'10"x14'5" Crew Transport Vessels (CTV) ordered by U.S. offshore CTV operator WINDEA CTV LLC. This marks the third CTV delivery by St. Johns Shipbuilding within six months.
All three WINDEA vessels will initially be chartered by GE on the Vineyard Wind Offshore wind farm 15 miles off the coast of Massachusetts.
“I’m incredibly proud of all the shipbuilders and support staff who helped bring this vessel to life,” said St. Johns Ship Building President Joe Rella in a statement. “As we advance our CTVs, barges, and other vessel orders, we are supporting the proud tradition of American shipbuilding, which is the backbone of the U.S. economy, right here in Palatka. We aim to make Putnam County, Florida’s 6th Congressional District, the regional leader in maritime job creation and operational excellence.”
The vessels are based on a CTV design developed by Incat Crowther. They feature a large foredeck with a 23 metric ton knuckle boom crane and container securing lugs offering needed flexibility. The vessels incorporate Incat Crowther’s patented Resilient Bow Technology minimizing boat landing impact forces. As is common with all Incat Crowther CTVs, the vessels have a deadweight capability in excess of 50 metric tons.
A resiliently mounted superstructure is designed to increase comfort for both technicians and crew with six crew berths provided in above deck staterooms. Other notable features include a large wet room and stores warehouse, fully featured bathrooms and a discreet mess area. Workshop and utility spaces in the hulls are immediately accessible from the cabin.
The vessels will be propelled by four Volvo Penta IPS propulsion units driven by Volvo D13 main engines, producing 515 kW (690 hp) each. They are fully hybrid-ready, meaning the integration of the hybrid system is completely accommodated in the design, including dedicated voids for batteries, reserved cabling space and battery removal hatches. The propulsion package will give the boats a running speed of 26 knots.
Ship’s service power will come from two gensets, sparking 40 kW of electrical power each.
The vessels will be designed and built under Bureau Veritas class and comply with USCG CFR 46 Subchapter L regulations.
Tankage includes 9,510 gals. fuel oil and 925 gals. fresh water. The boats will carry a crew of six and 24 technicians.
The WINDEA CTV fleet is owned and operated by MidOcean Wind LLC and Hornblower Wind LLC. (a member of Hornblower Group), with technical and operational support from WINDEA Offshore shareholder Ems Maritime Offshore GmbH, which operates a fleet of CTVs in the European market with more than 10 years of experience. MidOcean brings a 40+ year track record of U.S. Jones Act ship ownership in various vessel classes. Hornblower’s global footprint includes operating more than 150 vessels on the Northeast coast and providing full value-chain marine services, including design, build, delivery, maintenance, and operations services for clients across government, municipal, military, and private sectors.
This partnership is designed to position itself to build and operate a large fleet of CTVs that will be needed to serve the ongoing, rapid expansion of offshore wind power in the Northeast and across the U.S.
In 2022, St. Johns was acquired by Americraft Marine, a maritime company of Libra Group, a privately owned business group whose subsidiaries have assets and operations in nearly 60 countries.
