An offshore service vessel is working to recover sea floor debris from the broken turbine blade on Vineyard Wind’s AW38 turbine off southern New England, continuing a cleanup from the July 13 failure that rattled the offshore wind industry and energized opponents.
The 250’x54’ HOS Mystique began recovery operations Oct. 13 and is expected to continue for about two weeks, Vineyard Wind and Nantucket municipal officials said in updated statements this week. The Hornbeck Offshore vessel is using its 100 metric ton knuckle boom crane and a remotely operated vehicle around the disabled GE Vernova turbine on foundation AW38 southwest of Nantucket, Mass.
The HOS Mystique is accompanied by three local fishing vessels, the Kineo, Lucitano and Saints & Angels, according to Vineyard Wind.
Fragments of the broken 350’ blade’s fiberglass and resin coatings drifted for weeks across southern New England waters. Municipal officials on Nantucket said they are in ongoing contact with Vineyard Wind over progress of the operation to recover larger pieces sunken around the turbine foundation.
“In addition to the vessel tasked with retrieving the larger pieces of debris, an additional vessel has been deployed to recover any smaller fragments that may break off during the process,” members of the Nantucket Select Board said in a public statement. “We will continue to keep the community informed as the recovery operation progresses.”
A first piece of debris was successfully lifted Sunday and operations were underway again at mid-week, according to Vineyard Wind.
Three months after the blade breakup led to temporary beach closings and shoreline cleanups on the island, Nantucket officials say they are looking for legal next steps.
In an Oct. 9 open letter to Nantucket residents, Brooke Mohr, chair of the town Select Committee, wrote “my colleagues and I are committed to holding companies and federal and state government leaders accountable for the damage they caused. We want Nantucket residents to know what we are doing to address the harm done to our island and our community.”
Mohr outlined the town’s steps so far:
- Hiring a nationally recognized damages expert to evaluate the short-, medium-, and long-term harms to Nantucket’s environment and economy;
- Soliciting information from residents, business owners, and members of the fishing industry to quantify economic or other losses; and
- Researching the likelihood of future turbine failures and the potential costs involved.
“Second, we are negotiating directly with the companies and government officials responsible for the operation of Vineyard Wind 1. We are:
• Insisting on additions to our community benefit agreement to improve communications and protocols for future technology failures, exceeding state and federal requirements;
- Demanding compensation for this event and establishing future safeguards from Vineyard Wind’s owners and GE Vernova, the manufacturer of the turbine blades; and
- Collaborating with the Commonwealth to demand that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) thoroughly assess potential harm to the natural and human environment from future infrastructure failures before construction is allowed to resume.”
“We remain committed to achieving a resolution that is both effective and timely. Vineyard Wind, its owners, and GE Vernova have publicly committed to making the Town and the business community whole,” Mohr wrote. “As long as these talks continue to demonstrate progress, we will pursue them. The Town retains its full legal options, including the right to litigate in court should the discussions falter.”
