St. Johns Ship Building, Palatka, Fla., recently announced the delivery of the WINDEA Courageous, the first of three 99'x33'x5' Jones Act compliant Incat Crowther crew transport vessels (CTV) ordered by WINDEA CTV LLC, a partnership of Hornblower Wind and MidOcean Wind. The vessel will enter service supporting Vineyard Wind 1, and is already onsite in New Bedford, Mass., supporting the construction of the project.
The construction of this series of Incat-designed vessels signals the official launch of the new St. Johns Shipbuilding’s dedicated focus on constructing high-speed aluminum vessels. The groundwork for this focus on supporting the construction of Jones Act-compliant CTVs was laid more than two years ago through multiple facility modifications and the acquisition of new production equipment such as the installation of a CNC router for processing of non-ferrous metals and composite materials.
“This delivery marks a proud moment of validation.” Ed Sheets, executive vice president and director of business strategy for Americraft Marine Group, the parent company of St Johns Shipbuilding. “The WINDEA Courageous is a statement vessel for St Johns Shipbuilding and marks the first measurable accomplishment in what has been a two-year effort to convert the facility and its many talented and hard-working personnel from a history in building primarily steel vessels, to constructing advanced design, high speed, aluminum vessels. To say we are simply proud of the accomplishment doesn’t do justice to the hard work and sacrifice of the SJSB team. They have all risen to the many challenges we have faced during this transition and at the same time, have raised the bar in this industry segment itself.”
"St. John's Shipbuilding achieved a significant milestone with the successful construction and delivery of this WINDEA CTV LLC crew transfer vessel. Their dedicated efforts and expertise ensured the completion of the project with precision and adherence to quality standards," said Junior Volpe, SVP of vessel construction and repair at Hornblower Group.”
St. Johns Shipbuilding (SJSB) is based in Palatka, Fla., SJSB specializes in the new construction and repair of a wide variety of steel and aluminum vessels, including crew vessels, ferries, tugs, deck and tank barges, landing crafts, and general cargo vessels. Significantly, SJSB is also one of the few U.S. shipyards that is currently building vessels that support and service offshore wind farms. St. Johns’ holding company, Americraft Marine Group, one of the maritime subsidiaries of U.S. headquartered, privately owned business group Libra Group, was launched to support and strengthen the U.S. shipbuilding industry and infrastructure with the goal to build St. Johns Shipbuilding as a center of excellence in Jones Act shipbuilding.
