US Offshore Wind Farm Gets Help From Heerema’s Workhorse

---

---

---

Last Updated on: 31st May 2025, 02:43 pm

A 1980s-era semisubmersible crane vessel known as “Heerema’s Workhorse” steamed its way over to Rhode Island last week to gear up for its next assignment, building the 810-megawatt Empire Wind offshore wind farm off the coast of Long Island in New York. It’s a concrete sign that Empire is back in business, even as other offshore wind projects in the US fall victim to the Trump chopper. As for how and why Empire is so special, a new filing by the the gas pipeline company Williams offers a clue.

Offshore Wind Farm To Get TLC From Thliaf SSCV

The vessel in question is Thialf, owned by the global marine contractor Heerema. Once billed as the second-largest SSCV (semisubmersible crane vessel) in the world, the ship is almost 40 years old and still going strong.

“Thialf is a multi-talented machine capable of everything from deepwater installation to monopiles to 14,200 metric ton topside installations,” Heerema explains. Thialf was the biggest SSCV in the world up until 2019, when the company produced an even larger one.

Among other leading offshore oil and gas projects, Thialf’s long and colorful history includes hefting the world’s largest floating platform, located in the Shearwater gas field in the North Sea. Thialf also assisted in the development of the Johan Sverdrup oil field in the North Sea.

Empire Wind 1 Is Back On Track, But What About Empire 2?

Now all that machinery and expertise will go to work on the Empire Wind 1 project, helping to install 54 offshore turbines to deliver 810 gigawatts of clean electricity into New York City via Brooklyn  — hopefully before Trump changes his mind again.

The need for an A-list SSCV was already in mind when Empire Wind engaged Thialf back in 2022. “The vessel is often referred to as Heerema’s workhorse for its ability to get the work done, regardless of the job, location, or weather!” Heerema emphasizes.

At the time, Empire was part of a 50-50 partnership between bp and the leading global energy firm Equinor. Last year the two firms split, with Equinor taking over the Empire 1 project and its sister project Empire 2, while bp took a Massachusetts offshore wind project called Beacon Wind.

Either way, Heerema was anticipating plenty of work on the East Coast. The firm noted a combined total of 2.1 gigawatts for Empire 1 and 2, along with another 1.2 gigawatts for Beacon. Now everything is on hold except Empire 1 and one other project, the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project.

A Rare Green Light For An Offshore Wind Project

When Trump’s Interior Department issued an abrupt stop -work order against Empire Wind in April, a series of talks also took place between New York Governor Kathy Hochul and President Trump, during which the the two reportedly discussed restarting gas pipeline projects in New York under the wing of the leading gas infrastructure firm Williams.

Now the Empire stop-work order is lifted and Williams has petitioned to move forward with at least one of its projects, the Constitution pipeline, an interstate project that will connect gas fields in Pennsylvania’s Susquehanna County to an interconnection in Schoharie County in New York, with the aim of shunting gas up to New England.

Connecting the dots, a deal of some sort was made between Trump and Hochul. However, the fact is that the Empire offshore wind project is already well into the construction phase, while Constitution has a long row to hoe ahead of it. Williams first proposed the pipeline over 10 years ago, back in 2014, only to withdraw it in 2020 after a series of regulatory obstacles.

The federal regulatory environment has changed since then, but Hochul has emphasized that the project will have to its way through navigate through New York waters as well. Even if Williams does secure the necessary permits, legal battles with local residents and other stakeholders could easily extend the start of work beyond January 20, 2029, when Trump will leave office for the second and final time — peacefully this time, one hopes.

Who Gets The Last Laugh On Offshore Wind?

It remains to be seen if the new Williams filing is the first step in a serious attempt to revive the Constitution project, or simply a placeholder. Some energy analysts (here’s one) note that Williams has other projects in its pipeline elsewhere around the country that promise greater rewards with less risk, raising the possibility that Constitution will simmer on the company’s back burner long past Trump’s second and final term in office.

In the meantime, the Empire offshore wind project is on track for completion in 2027, which is just around the corner.

So, does Governor Hochul get the last laugh? The short answer is yes — for now — if only on the basis of timeline.

More Wheeling And Dealing For The Energy Transition

Slipping an offshore wind project past Trump’s offshore wind ban is just one of two key energy-related matters pending between Hochul and Trump.

Congestion pricing is one. With Hochul’s support, New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority is continuing to ignore Trump’s deadlines for shutting down its newly introduced congestion pricing system for midtown and lower Manhattan, while fighting the matter in court.

Pennsylvania Station is the other. Rehabbing the sprawling, badly designed 1960’s-era rail transit hub in midtown Manhattan is Hochul’s showcase project, which she enthusiastically unveiled back in 2021. However, last month US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy summarily booted the MTA off the planning table upon which Hochul dumped the entire project into Trump’s hands, relieving state taxpayers from the $1.2 billion or so New York had budgeted for its share of the cost.

Between congestion pricing and the Penn Station rehab, the idea is to get more people out of their cars and onto mass transit. If Hochul manages to get both done despite Trump’s fossil-centric drive for “American Energy Dominance,” that’s a big win for the energy transition.

As for the offshore wind bargain, there may be even more there than meets the eye. When Duffy knocked the MTA off the Penn Station rehab, he designated Amtrak — which is the entity that owns the facility — to take over the project. That enabled Hochul to claim that New York is no longer on the hook for its $1.2 billion share of the project, but it also provided Trump with yet another opportunity to install another one of his whackadoodle, cosplaying, know-nothing, conspiracy-mongering pals in a key position with enormous responsibilities.

Or not, as the case may be. New York’s “train daddy,” the well-traveled and highly regarded former president of the New York City Transit Authority, Andy Byford, was tapped to take the lead on the Penn Station rehab. If you have reason to believe his name came up for discussion during one of Hochul’s conversations with Trump, drop a note in the comment thread.

Photo: The US offshore wind industry is still showing signs of life with the arrival of Thliaf, a gigantic semi-submersible crane vessel that is gearing up to help build the 810-megawatt Empire Wind project off the coast of Long Island (courtesy of Heerema).