Wind Shift Makes Waves
On August 29, as covered in this issue, the Department of Transportation and Maritime Administration pulled $679 million from a range of offshore wind projects, calling their future into question. The grant rescissions included funding for some “wind ports” designed to support these projects with docks, terminals and equipment marshalling areas. Rhode Island’s Revolution Wind project was already 80 percent complete when the halt order came. Gov. Dan McKee blasted the decision, as did governors of states that have invested heavily in offshore wind projects.
As the offshore wind industry developed in recent years, it was expected to provide a modest boom in vessel construction, including at some shipyards that build vessels for inland waterways customers. Since 2016, the U.S. has gradually ramped up construction of crew transfer vessels. As of 2025, nearly 30 Jones Act–compliant CTVs are in service, under construction or on order across various U.S. shipyards.
The ECO Edison, the first U.S.-built Service Operations Vessel (SOV) for offshore wind, was completed and christened in 2024, while the ECO Liberty, another hybrid SOV, was launched and christened this year. It can house roughly 60 technicians and was designed to serve operations like Revolution Wind, Sunrise Wind and South Fork Wind.
In September 2023, Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding cut steel for another Jones Act–compliant hybrid SOV (design HAV 832) for Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, scheduled to be in service around 2026.
In April 2024, Charybdis, the first-ever Jones Act–compliant wind turbine installation vessel built in the United States, at Seatrium AmFELS in Brownsville, Texas, was launched. It began sea trials in early 2025, and it was expected to provide installation services for Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind and other projects.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he wants to redirect the money to support the build-up of America’s shipbuilding and maritime capacity, but no details about whether and how that will happen have yet been forthcoming. Given the legal challenges that are sure to come, the reprogramming of these funds appears likely to remain uncertain well into the future.
