Offshore Wind Starts with what Comes Out of the Water, Not What Goes In

A DredgeWire Exclusive

DredgeWire is pleased that Eric Ramírez Barreto of RMZ Marine will be contributing insightful pieces for DredgeWire with his insights on the maritime market.

We think you’ll be intrigued by what he has to say.

Here is his fourth column.

More than 500,000 cubic yards of legacy contaminated sediment are being removed and safely managed as part of New Bedford’s Phase V Harbor Cleanup Program. One offshore wind berth alone required removing more than 80,000 cubic yards of contaminated material before the first vessel could tie up.

That’s the part of offshore wind almost nobody talks about.

Everyone sees the turbine installation.

Very few people see the years of environmental remediation, dredging, demolition, permitting, and waterfront reconstruction that have to happen before the first monopile ever leaves the dock.

The first deepwater berth at the Foss Marine Terminal is now complete, a 300-foot marine bulkhead designed to support offshore wind construction and service vessels.

At full build-out, the terminal is planned to include four deepwater berths and a floating pier system capable of supporting up to eleven offshore wind construction and operations vessels, with a workforce rotation of as many as 300 people each month.

That’s permanent marine infrastructure.

Not temporary project staging.

I’ve worked on contaminated sediment dredging waterfronts projects.
– They’re slow.
– They’re expensive.
– And they’re often one of the biggest schedule drivers on complex marine developments.
The critical path isn’t always “the steel” going into the water.
Sometimes it’s the material coming out of it.

That’s also why I’ve never viewed ocean protection and marine construction as competing priorities.

In this case, removing contaminated sediment, restoring the harbor, rebuilding a working waterfront, and creating the infrastructure needed to support offshore wind are all part of the same project.

One investment delivers cleaner sediments, improved marine infrastructure, and long-term economic capacity.

The offshore wind industry often starts counting from the first foundation installation. In reality, many projects begin years earlier, with environmental cleanup, dredging, and rebuilding the waterfront.

Those are the projects that make everything else possible.

For marine contractors, port owners, and coastal engineers:
What’s been the biggest schedule driver on the waterfront redevelopment projects you’ve worked on environmental remediation, permitting, dredging, or marine construction?

DM me if you’re a marine contractor, port owner, or engineering firm looking for senior project managers, estimators, or marine construction professionals with experience in dredging, waterfront redevelopment, ports, and offshore wind infrastructure.

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