OMSA applauds lifting of Empire Wind stop work order

ECO Liberty seen earlier this month in Port Fourchon, La. {Photo: ECO/OMSA]

The Offshore Marine Service Association (OMSA) was swift to applaud the Trump Administration’s decision to lift the stop-work order on the $5 billion Empire Wind project, allowing construction activities to resume after a month-long pause

“The American maritime industry must have certainty, predictability, and fairness to invest with confidence i in the vessels, technology, and talent needed to support U.S. offshore energy,” said Aaron Smith, president of OMSA. “By allowing the Empire Wind project to move forward, the Trump Administration is providing a stable policy environment that encourages bold investment in American energy.”

Just this week, notes OMSA, we saw how this system can work effectively with the launch of the ECO Liberty, an American-built, American-crewed, state-of-the-art plug-in hybrid SOV built by Edison Chouest Offshore in Louisiana and Mississippi shipyards specifically for the Empire Wind project.

But this issue is bigger than one vessel, says OMSA. The same Gulf of America shipyards and suppliers that built the ECO Liberty also build for and supply our national and homeland security apparatus. When these Americans can hone their skills building for the offshore wind industry, our security will reap the dividends.