STURGEON BAY (NBC 26) — Workers will be busy at the Fincantieri Shipyard in Sturgeon Bay building a 288-foot ship designed to service offshore wind farms.
The company announced the multi-million-dollar contract Wednesday. Fincantieri Marine Group reached an agreement on a contract with CREST Wind, a joint venture between Crowley and ESVAGT, to design and build a 288-foot HAV 832 Service Operation Vessel.
According to Fincantieri, SOVs are purpose-built vessels used to transport technicians to service and sustain operation of wind turbines at sea. Crowley is a U.S. maritime, energy, and logistics solution company serving the offshore wind market while Denmark-based ESVAGT is the leading provider of SOV service in Europe. HAV Design AS, a leading designer of SOVs in Norway, designed this specific vessel.
A press release from the company says Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding is currently building several LNG bunkering barges, including for Crowley, in addition to supporting the government work of sister yard, Fincantieri Marinette Marine, where the Navy’s new Constellation-class frigates are under construction.
Construction will begin this year and the ship is scheduled to be serving a wind farm, Dominion Energy, off the coast of Virginia in 2026.
