The Biden administration's ambitious goal to build US offshore wind farms generating 30 gigawatts of energy has teed up a race to provide project developers with the vessels they will need for this nascent market.
But few participants in this race have even made it to the starting line, with just one wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV) and one service operation vessel (SOV) under construction in the US.
Despite excitement over the emergence of a new market for US shipowners, there remains uncertainty over how quickly it can develop because of a complex dance the sector is facing: projects need ships to move forward, shipowners need projects to commit to order vessels, and shipyards will need time to build them.
