Great Lakes Dredge and Dock (GLDD) has taken delivery of a new subsea rock installation (SRI) vessel built by Hanwha Philly Shipyard in Pennsylvania.
Acadia has been engineered to transport and precisely install up to 20,000 tonne of rock on the seabed.
GLDD said this rock would provide critical scour protection for subsea infrastructure including subsea cables for power transmission, telecommunications cables, oil and gas pipelines and subsea structures and offshore wind turbine foundations, preventing erosion caused by waves and currents and mechanical impacts from equipment and vessels.
The SRI vessel was designed by Norwegian naval architecture firm Ulstein. The vessel has an LOA of 140.5 metres, a beam of 34.1 metres, a maximum draught of seven metres, a maximum speed of 12 knots, and accommodation for up to 45 personnel.
GLDD said Acadia is the first US-flagged, Jones Act-compliant SRI vessel.
Following delivery, Acadia will mobilise to begin work on Equinor’s Empire Wind I project offshore New York. Upon completion, the vessel is expected to proceed directly to Ørsted’s Sunrise Wind project, also located offshore New York.
Upon completion of the two US projects, Acadia will mobilise to Europe to begin rock installation for an undisclosed offshore wind developer, keeping the vessel utilised for the majority of 2027.
