Ørsted, Eversource Hire Sea ServIces to Ensure Safety During Offshore Wind Farm Construction
GoLocalProv Business Team
Ørsted, Eversource Hire Sea ServIces to Ensure Safety During Offshore Wind Farm Construction
This includes the 704-megawatt Revolution Wind project serving Rhode Island and Connecticut, the 132-megawatt South Fork Wind serving Long Island and the 924-megawatt Sunrise Wind project serving New York.
“We believe strongly that offshore wind can coexist with all ocean users, including the region’s commercial and recreational fishing fleets,” said David Hardy, Chief Executive Officer of Ørsted Offshore North America. “Our expanded collaboration with Sea Services will help us as we strive to achieve that coexistence, with the valuable support from fishermen who know the area’s waters best.”
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The collaboration will draw on the unique maritime experience of Sea Services and its partner fishermen in the Northeast region. Over the last year, Sea Services’ fishermen provided scouting vessels and monitoring services to assist Revolution Wind’s project research vessels in successfully locating, identifying and avoiding fishermen’s gear during pre-construction marine surveys. This partnership helped improve communication and coexistence during the surveys.
According to the companies, this collaboration will create jobs for fishermen, increase safety standards, and provide training for participating crews. This agreement will provide additional days at sea for the region’s fishing fleet. Most importantly, this agreement marks the first time an offshore wind developer and a commercial fishing consortium sign a substantial commercial contract in the history of U.S. offshore wind.
Separately, Ørsted has also begun discussions with Sea Services to expand this scope into its Ocean Wind and Skipjack Wind Farms, serving New Jersey and Maryland respectively.
“Our partnership with Sea Services North America follows through on our commitment to engage other ocean users, such as commercial fishermen, throughout the full life cycle of our projects and utilize local partners to bring commercially successful and mutually beneficial projects to life,” said Kenneth Bowes, Eversource Vice President of Siting and Permitting. “We are excited to work with Sea Services on our Northeast projects.”
“Our partnership with Ørsted and Eversource not only ensures enhanced safety and protection of the ocean environment, but also will support the region’s economy by creating new jobs and providing an economic opportunity for our fishermen,” said Sea Services CEO and co-founder, Gordon Videll. ”When our vessels and crews are not fishing, we will be providing Ørsted and Eversource with 24/7 monitoring of all designated wind project assets, as well as monitoring and education for vessels traveling in designated areas. As wind farms mature grow, so will opportunities for the Sea Services consortium.”
“We are powered by a growing collective of experienced, pragmatic and knowledgeable fishermen from throughout the Northeast with a deep understanding of our shared marine environment,” said Sea Services North America fleet manager and co-founder, Gary Yerman. “Sea Service’s scalable consortium business model allows boats from various ports to sign on to Sea Services’ standards of safety and coordination.”
Sea Services North America, based in Waterford, Connecticut, was founded to offer fishermen the opportunity to diversify their maritime skills and assets to support offshore energy related activities. They are the world leaders in the management of fisheries-based diversification within the marine economy. Sea Services management negotiates contracts with offshore wind developers, provides vessel inspections, pays day rates and fuel, increases safety standards, facilitates crew training and coordinates best in class reporting systems and software to the developer.
For the offshore wind developer, Sea Services provides customized reporting, best in class HSE policies, qualified vessels, safety inspections, ready captains and crews with preliminary training; and complete on water coordination, to ensure safety and the maximum uninterrupted days at sea.
About Ørsted Offshore North America
The Ørsted vision is a world that runs entirely on green energy. Ørsted ranks as the world’s most sustainable energy company in Corporate Knights’ 2021 Global 100 index of the most sustainable corporations and is recognized on the CDP Climate Change A List as a global leader on climate action.
In the United States, Ørsted operates the Block Island Wind Farm, America’s first offshore wind farm, and constructed the two-turbine Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind pilot project – the first turbines to be installed in federal waters. Ørsted has secured over 2,900 megawatts of additional capacity through five projects in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. Ørsted Offshore’s North American business is jointly headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts and Providence, Rhode Island and employs more than 150 people. To learn more visit us.orsted.com or follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (@OrstedUS).