New US offshore wind survey vessel about to hit the water

All American Marine (AAM) has delivered a research and hydrographic survey vessel to Geodynamics, an NV5 company, that will service the offshore wind market and carry out other scientific survey missions. 

The vessel named Shackleford has been specifically customized to serve the offshore wind sector on the U.S. Eastern Seaboard and will serve an integral role in NV5-Geodynamics’ mission of providing turnkey, “single pass” offshore surveys, AAM said.

The 73’ x 26.7’ semi-displacement aluminum catamaran hull was sea-trialed on Bellingham Bay, before being shipped via cargo ship to its homeport of Beaufort, North Carolina.

“This vessel will enable Geodynamics to take their business to the next level, provide unmatched services and expand their scientific activities on the east coast significantly. The vessel will also help advance the rapidly growing windfarm industry on the East Coast and beyond,” said Ron Wille, President and COO of AAM.

Named after Shackleford Banks, the southernmost barrier island in the Cape Lookout National Seashore chain, Shackleford was constructed to USCG Subchapter T standards. To reduce survey mobilization costs, it is outfitted with fully dedicated and redundant survey systems, including the Kongsberg EM 2040 MKII multibeam echosounder which is deployed through the vessel’s moonpool via a retractable strut.

The vessel integrates the Teknicraft Design symmetrical and asymmetrical combined hull shape, bow wave piercer, and a patented hydrofoil-assisted hull design. With a fuel capacity of 1,500 gallons, this design is licensed for up to 16-day passengers and has live-aboard accommodations of up to 10 passengers.

The propulsion package includes two fixed pitch propellers, powered by twin EPA Tier 3 diesel engines, rated at 803 bhp @ 2100 RPM driving ZF 665V remote-mounted gearboxes.

“To achieve the highest level of data accuracy day in and day out, our model over the last two decades is simple: we consider the boat as a precision survey instrument, purpose-built for the specific survey environment and then wrapped around the ideal sensors for a specific set of missions,” said Chris Freeman, Sr. Vice President at Geodynamics.

“This new best-in-class vessel will provide an unmatched platform for our continued focus on performing to the most stringent offshore survey specifications in the world, whether that is for nautical charting or for subsea exploration to support offshore wind development.”

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