U.S. Creates Strong Tailwind to Boost Offshore Vessel Demand
Donald Trump is not known for pushing renewable energy, but his administration is waving through a growing pipeline of offshore wind projects and proposals that are expected to open opportunities for vessels to serve construction and support operations in this burgeoning sector.
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Blank Rome lawyer Joan Bondareff said authorities in Washington have yet to spell out explicitly whether windfarms count as a US point subject to the Jones Act. “Most of the developers assume that the Jones Act does apply [when carrying merchandise] from a US port or the US coast out to these windfarms,” she said.
Block Island provided a partial preview of how to carry off a windfarm project off the US, but it was built in state waters, whereas the new batch of developments are planned for federal waters.
The Jones Act creates logistical hurdles for heavylift crane vessels that install turbine foundations, with the small global fleet of vessels booked out well in advance, and for turbine installation vessels. There are no US-built ships in either sector.
This has US shipyards licking their lips at an opportunity to build installation vessels or specialist vessels to help foreign-flag ships overcome Jones Act restrictions on their movements. But building domestically will be costly.
“The question really is whether US shipyards and US companies are going to be interested in investing in some of the heavylift equipment,” Bondareff said.
"U.S. Creates Strong Tailwind to Boost Offshore Vessel Demand," by Eric Martin was published in TradeWinds on April 23, 2019.