US’ first offshore wind installation vessel 'fails to deliver' as launch delayed

Dominion Energy CEO Bob Blue said he was “extremely disappointed” the US’ first wind turbine installation vessel Charybdis has been stuck in port due to system quality issues that need to be resolved before it can begin its campaign.

“Charybdis has again not met expectations,” Blue said during Friday's third quarter earnings call.

“I recognize the importance of executing consistently against any commitment, and we failed to deliver regarding Charybdis.”

Charybdis was built by Seatrium at its Galveston, Texas yard and is the first – and so far, only – Jones Act-compliant wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV).

The Jones Act forbids foreign-flagged vessels from calling in at consecutive US ports or points on the outer continental shelf, including wind foundations.

The vessel was commissioned by Dominion in 2020 for installation of its nation-leading 2.6GW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) array now in construction.

Delivery of the vessel has been repeatedly delayed, causing it to miss its first installation campaign originally slated for Orsted’s Revolution Wind.

The WTIV successfully passed its sea trials and arrived at its home port of Portsmouth Marine Terminal (PMT) in September, when it was expected to commence installation of CVOW’s 176 Siemens Gamesa 14MW turbines.

However, “punch list items were identified that require remediation prior to the vessel being cleared to begin turbine load out and installation,” Blue said.

“While all major systems are operating well, there are a variety of quality assurance level items that require addressing, and those tasks are currently underway to ensure that the vessel can commence work as quickly as it is safely able to do,” he added.

Blue acknowledged that Dominion “didn't properly account in our timing estimate for the risk inherent in being the first Jones Act-compliant wind turbine installation vessel to be built and regulated in the United States.”

Offshore wind has been a boon for the nation's struggling shipbuilding industry that now accounts for little more than 1% of global commercial vessels.

Since former President Joe Biden launched the 30GW by 2030 goal, the US offshore wind sector has invested at least $1.8bn in newbuild and retrofitted vessels, according to industry advocacy group Oceantic Network. American Clean Power Association (ACP) puts this even higher, at $2.5bn.

Charybdis is the crowning achievement of this effort. At 472 feet (144 metres), it is one of the largest WTIVs afloat, with a crane capable of raising 2,200 tonnes, ensuring it will keep up with increasingly larger turbines.
President Donald Trump's goal of killing US offshore wind makes it highly likely the nation will not see another Jones Act-compliant WTIV for the foreseeable future.

Material condition

The issues identified by local regulators fell into two buckets: “the material condition of certain components, primarily within the ship's electrical systems,” and “the need for documentation” confirming the systems met US code, Blue said.

Dominion now has 200 workers including marine electricians on the problems and has already closed out 120 of them, but the chief executive warned: “not all those items are created equal.

“Some punch list items are a little more complex and will take longer to resolve, but the progress has been really good,” he said.

“Based on the pace of work, the commitment of the team we've got there, [we’re] highly confident that we'll work our way through all the punch list items and be ready to start operating in November,” he added.

The issues have not raised the total costs of the vessel, which stand at $715m.

Dominion doesn’t see any impact on the overall timeline of the $11.2bn CVOW, which is on track to begin sending power to transmission operator PJM’s grid starting in March toward completion by the end of next year.