Crowley, ESVAGT to Partner to Add Vessel and Service Capacity for the U.S. Offshore Wind Industry
U.S.-based Crowley and Danish shipping company ESVAGT announced plans today to directly bolster purpose-built, Jones Act vessel availability in support of the emerging offshore wind energy market through a joint venture.
The partnership will bring together two leading maritime solutions providers to serve the emerging industry. Consistent with the requirements of the U.S. Jones Act, Crowley will own and operate the vessels with its highly trained U.S. mariners, while Crowley and ESVAGT will share in the economics of the venture. ESVAGT is the leading Service Operation Vessel (SOV) operator in Europe and will provide technical advice on the design, construction, and operation of these vessels based solidly on their past performance with this specific vessel type.
The venture will work to develop a best-in-class design and deliver its first wind-dedicated, U.S flag SOV. The companies, which share a long history of safe and reliable solutions within their respective markets, are now positioning to advance wind farm development by directly addressing shortages of compliant vessel capacity.
Earlier this year, Crowley formed its New Energy division strategically focused on diverse services supporting the emerging energy sectors in the U.S. and adjacent regions. Within the offshore wind industry, Crowley’s New Energy expansion, including this latest partnership, advances the company as a total lifecycle service provider. Service offerings include transportation of turbines during construction, industry-specific support vessels, shoreside terminaling and supply chain services from farm construction through decommissioning.
“This partnership will marry Crowley’s transferable engineering, vessel operations, project management and logistics experience in the U.S. offshore markets to ESVAGT’s global SOV design and operations capabilities. This will enable the continued growth of sustainable, greener energy solutions by directly addressing the offshore wind service capacity challenge,” said Tom Crowley, Chairman and CEO. “Our organizations share cultures that are based around the core values of safety, integrity, and high performance. We look forward to a long and successful partnership in support of North America’s new energy solutions.”
ESVAGT pioneered the SOV concept in Europe more than a decade ago and is today the leading provider of SOV services to the European Offshore Wind Operation and Maintenance markets. ESVAGT possesses an unparalleled experience in safely transferring people to offshore wind farm installations from a fleet of innovative and specialized vessels operated by highly qualified crew: annually, ESVAGT safely transfers more than 115,000 personnel members from SOV to offshore wind farm installations.
“ESVAGT looks forward to further cementing its position as an offshore wind market leader by entering the U.S. offshore wind market with Crowley, a strong partner with an established track record of delivering solutions to its customers,” said ESVAGT CEO Peter Lytzen. “ESVAGT’s experience in Europe will help deliver a seamless operation in the United States, and we also appreciate the opportunity to invest in the construction of these vessels in compliance with the Jones Act.”
Jacksonville-based Crowley Holdings Inc., a holding company of the 129-year-old Crowley Maritime Corporation, is a privately held family- and employee-owned company that provides worldwide logistics, government, marine and energy solutions. Crowley operates with four business units. Crowley Logistics is a full-service end-to-end supply chain and managed transportation division that also includes ocean liner cargo services utilizing some company-owned vessels. Crowley Shipping encompasses ownership, operations and management of conventional and dual-fuel (liquefied natural gas) vessels, including tankers, container ships, multipurpose vessels, tugboats and barges; engineering, project management and naval architecture; and Crowley LNG, which provides LNG distribution, engineering and related services. Crowley Fuels provides petroleum transportation, distribution and sales primarily throughout Alaska. Crowley Solutions focuses on global government services and program management, government ship management, expeditionary logistics and government-oriented freight transportation services. Additional information about Crowley, its subsidiaries and business units may be found at www.crowley.com.
About ESVAGT ESVAGT is a Danish shipping company located in Esbjerg, Denmark. The company was founded in 1981 with the mission of making the sea a safe place to work by providing Emergency Response and Rescue Vessels (ERRVs) services to the Danish offshore oil & gas industry. Since then, ESVAGT has grown rapidly by expanding its services to cover the fast-growing European offshore wind industry with a fleet of modern purpose-built Service Operation Vessels (SOVs) equipped with state-of-the-art equipment such as motion-compensated gangway, cranes, workshop facilities, accommodation, etc. Today, ESVAGT continues to set the mark for operational excellence by shaping and continuously developing the SOV concept. ESVAGT operates a fleet of more than 40 vessels and engages more than 1.000 skilled employees offshore and onshore. ESVAGT is owned by 3i Infrastructure (50%) and AMP Capital (50%). Additional information about ESVAGT can be found at www.esvagt.com