St. Johns Ship Building held a keel laying ceremony last week for the second of the series of aluminum offshore wind crew transfer vessels (CTVs). The crew transfer vessels will service U.S. offshore wind projects for construction, operations, and maintenance.
The announcement follows the Jones Act shipyard’s acquisition by Americraft Marine last May.
The Chartwell Marine Ltd. Ambitious-class 82.7' aluminum catamarans have the capacity to transport 24 personnel to and from wind turbines with speed, safety, and stability. The Ambitious-class CTVs are powered by two Tier 4 MAN engines producing 2,900 hp through two Hamilton HM651 waterjets coupled with ZF gears with a top speed of 29 knots. This Ambitious-class CTV is the second Tier 4 vessel that AWT has under construction.
The vessels were commissioned by the Rhode Island-based Atlantic Wind Transfers (AWT).
The Ambitious-class CTVs, Chartwell’s flagship CTV design, will be U.S. Jones Act-compliant, certified under USCG Subchapter L and able to operate at any offshore wind farm in the U.S. under the safety and inspection standards of the U.S. Coast Guard.
“We are very pleased to earn the trust of Charles Donadio Jr. and the teams working with Atlantic Wind Transfers. This keel laying ceremony represents the second Chartwell designed Ambitious now under construction as we work hard to keep facility and infrastructure improvements just ahead of our construction goals,” Jeff Bukoski, president of St Johns Ship Building, and vice president of business development at Americraft Marine Group, said in a prepared statement. “Our diverse portfolio of projects will continue to support vessels that will help America shift towards energy independence and a cleaner, healthier environment.”
AWT currently operates the only two CTVs in the U.S. under long-term contracts, servicing the Block Island Wind Farm for Orsted and Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Farm (CVOW) for Dominion Energy.
