Today, the U.S. Navy, on behalf of NOAA, has awarded $146,778,932 to Skanska USA, from New York, to design and build a new NOAA facility on Naval Station Newport in Rhode Island. This facility will eventually be the new home of NOAA’s Marine Operations Center – Atlantic.
While the details of the facility’s design are still being finalized, requirements include having a pier that will accommodate four large vessels, a floating dock for smaller vessels, space for vessel repairs and parking and a building to be used for shoreside support and as a warehouse. Construction is anticipated to be completed by 2027.
“By co-locating with Naval Station Newport, we are able to make our ship operations more efficient and increase long-term cost savings through sharing common capabilities,” said NOAA Corps Rear Admiral Nancy Hann, director of NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations and the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps. “We are excited to take this step in creating a state-of-the-art marine operations center for NOAA in Rhode Island.”
“Naval Station Newport looks forward to continuing its support for the missions of NOAA from our installation waterfront,” stated Capt. Henry Roenke, the installation commander. “An expanded NOAA footprint here punctuates the value and diversity of the missions and partners at the base and makes the Naval Station a vital community and asset for military and non-military operations.”
The center and ships are an operational component of NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations. The ships in NOAA’s Atlantic fleet collect data essential to protecting marine mammals, coral reefs and historic shipwrecks, managing commercial fisheries, understanding climate change and producing nautical charts that help keep mariners safe. NOAA ships also deploy and help maintain buoys that gather oceanographic and weather information and warn of tsunamis.
NOAA’s fleet of 15 research and survey ships are operated, managed and maintained by NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations. Ranging from large oceanographic research vessels capable of exploring the world’s deepest ocean, to smaller ships responsible for charting the shallow bays and inlets of the U.S. The fleet supports a wide range of marine activities, including fisheries surveys, nautical charting and ocean and climate studies. NOAA ships are operated by NOAA Corps officers and civilian professional mariners.
NOAA uses uncrewed marine systems to survey offshore wind energy sites
During Fall 2023, the Uncrewed Marine Systems Division of NOAA’s Uncrewed Systems Operations Center (UxSOC), their industry partner Exail and academic partner the University of Rhode Island Inner Space Center conducted field operations utilizing an uncrewed marine system to survey marine resources in current and potential offshore wind farm lease areas.
As offshore wind energy development grows around the nation, NOAA is working to enable sustainable, safe, inclusive and informed development. Uncrewed systems can serve as a critical tool for performing surveys in wind farm regions that are difficult to access using standard survey methods.
The recent field operations involved using a DriX uncrewed surface vehicle to collect information on the ocean conditions, marine life and seafloor within existing and under-development offshore wind farm areas using multiple scientific sensors, like sonars and echosounders. The DriX was able to collect data within 82 feet of a functional wind turbine (approximately the distance between bases on a baseball field).
Operations of traditional crewed research vessels in such close proximity to a wind turbine may prove more difficult than using uncrewed systems like the DriX. It is important to gather data around the wind turbines as marine life use the structures to acquire food and protection. The DriX surveys were designed to cover large regions encompassing designated wind farm areas, and to survey the current and proposed turbine locations at finer scales.
By gathering data at proposed turbine locations, NOAA is able to make comparisons of environmental changes that occur before and after turbine construction.
This project has shown that uncrewed surface vehicles can be useful tools for operating and collecting data within vessel restricted areas. These operations are just one example of how NOAA is informing transparent and data-driven decisions regarding offshore wind energy development.
- Click HERE to read about how NOAA is using uncrewed marine systems to support its fisheries systems.
Growing NOAA’s Uncrewed System Fleet
Beyond offshore wind energy development, NOAA is invested in improving the overall safety and efficiency of data collection efforts through the use of uncrewed systems. In support of these efforts, the UxSOC recently purchased a Slocum autonomous underwater glider, and is procuring another DriX to add to its growing fleet of uncrewed marine systems.
Uncrewed systems field operations – like that of the DriX in offshore wind farm sites – enhance NOAA’s understanding of different technologies and improve the agency’s ability to transition uncrewed systems to routine operations.
About the New Guice Offshore Rhode Island Office
To serve the increasing demand for offshore vessels in the northeastern United States, particularly in the rapidly growing offshore wind business, Guice Offshore opened a new office during July 2023 in Providence, Rhode Island.
The new Guice Offshore office is located in the CIC Providence building at:
225 Dyer Street, 2nd Floor
Providence, RI 02903
A conference and AV (audio-visual) room, plenty of private workspace and a kitchen area are among the new office features.
Guice Offshore joins a host of other respected offshore wind service providers at the same address, including Crowley, Fugro and Aqueos, and the Revolution Wind projects powered by Ørsted and Eversource. The location marks a convenient centerpoint between the Port of New Bedford and the CT Port Authority in New London, Connecticut, where Guice Offshore maintains dedicated dock space. Both ports are becoming bustling offshore wind hubs.
“With our growing number of offshore wind clients in the northeast, our new Rhode Island office will serve as an extension of our hiring and operations departments,” Guice Offshore Vice President of Sales and Marketing David Scheyd explained. “From this location, we’ll be serving customers’ various offshore marine needs, meet personally to discuss upcoming projects and operations, plus we’ll be able to apply the newest technology and solutions to serve their new offshore installations.”
Guice Offshore’s operations team manages both its fleet and crews, handling crew changes, repairs and regular general vessel maintenance. The dedicated Guice Offshore HSE (health, safety and environment) team also will extend to its new Rhode Island office to ensure that all clients’ individualized onboard safety programs are properly organized and executed, from launch to mission completion.
“The offshore wind industry is especially safety conscious and we’ve been highly responsive to both U.S. and international needs for safety standards, accordingly” Scheyd noted.
Indeed, the growing Guice Offshore fleet of Jones Act-compliant, dynamically positioned offshore supply vessels, mini supply vessels and platform vessels is well positioned to help meet America’s wind energy infrastructure installation and service goal deadlines, whether it’s crew transfer, service, cable laying, subsea work like scour protection or equipment transportation.
About Guice Offshore
Guice Offshore vessels are well-maintained, well-manned and feature ample accommodations and sought-after equipment such as A-frames, cranes, winches, moonpools, deck sockets and essentials to facilitate a spectrum of highly specialized offshore projects.
Guice Offshore has strategic partnerships along the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and Eastern Seaboard, from South Florida to Connecticut, and maintains its highly capable vessels in accessible locations for quick response to myriad needs of the many industries it serves.
Headquartered in Covington, Louisiana with its operations base in Lafayette, Louisiana, Guice Offshore operates a 15-vessel fleet of U.S. Flag offshore vessels that includes Jones Act-compliant mini supply, multi-purpose and platform vessels in the 150-ft, 170-ft and 205-ft class with DP1 and DP2 certifications.
Guice Offshore operates from coast to coast in North America and select international locales.
Additionally, its subsidiary, GO Marine Services, a catering and offshore labor contractor, supports mission requirements that help minimize mobilization time and expense for Guice Offshore customers with special services like marine riggers, roustabouts and certified protected species observers in compliance with marine mammal regulatory requirements.
For charter inquiries, please contact David Scheyd at david.scheyd@guiceoffshore.com or (985) 273-2769
