Platypus Marine, a shipbuilder located in Port Angeles near Seattle, Washington, last week signed a letter of intent with Dutch shipbuilding company Damen to build a crew transfer vessel for use in the US offshore wind industry.
The vessel will be built to Damen’s design, but will comply with the Jones Act as a ship built in and operated by a US company.
Platypus will build a 16,500 sq. ft. building to accommodate the 88-foot vessel, adding to the company’s existing six buildings and pushing its total area to about 100,000 sq. ft. Construction is expected to start by early 2024 and be completed in early 2025.
“Working with Damen Shipyards gives Platypus Marine the full support of their engineering team as well as their build reputation so Platypus can construct a competitively priced, top-of-the-line vessel, to be used in any waters it is deployed to,” said Alan Borde, Damen’s area manager for the United States, in a news release.
The vessel will hold 24 people and have a maximum speed of 25 knots
