New Bedford's Pope's Island will play a key role in Vineyard Wind construction. Here's how

NEW BEDFORD — A new partnership will meet the demand for fuel for New Bedford's fishing industry as well as Vineyard Wind, as construction of the offshore wind farm gets under way.

Vineyard Wind has signed a partnership with Shoreline Offshore, a joint venture between Quinn Fisheries and SEA.O.G Offshore, a leading integrated logistics provider, to build out a berthing and fueling area on Pope's Island for crew transfer vessels.

Shoreline Offshore was created in 2022 to connect the emerging offshore wind industry with local businesses in and around New Bedford through one central entity. Its mission is to ensure New Bedford's local marine-based businesses are included in the continued growth of New Bedford's marine economy.

As owner of a fuel distribution company called Fuel Man, one of the many marine businesses that will benefit from increased fuel capacity, Shoreline Offshore President Michael Quinn said the partnership with Vineyard Wind will result in a new fuel terminal that will benefit both industries.

“What we have currently in this harbor with the fishing industry is there are days that fuel supply can run short with the current infrastructure here so it can be difficult to get to all the vessels, and then with the offshore wind coming in there’s going to be a lot a lot more traffic throughout the harbor,” he said. “It will also create more storage for commercial fishing vessels so that they can get out in a more timely manner.”

Vineyard Wind will provide $750K for floating barges

Under the terms of the agreement, Vineyard Wind will provide $750,000 in funding through its Industry Accelerator Fund, which is co-managed by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center to support the acquisition of two floating barges to meet the berthing needs of Vineyard Wind and future developers.

The barges will be located on the northern side of Pope’s Island, which is fully protected by the New Bedford Hurricane Barrier, and help developers work during both the construction and operations and maintenance phases of the different projects.

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In addition to the barges, Shoreline Offshore will upgrade its existing facilities, including the addition of fuel tanks and other infrastructure needed to serve New Bedford’s multiple maritime industries.

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“We’re proud to partner with the Quinn family on a unique project that meets the evolving needs of both commercial fishing and offshore wind,” Vineyard Wind CEO Klaus S. Moeller said in a press release. “By expanding the capability of this site, we not only secure a great location for our vessels, we also are improving facilities that can serve other fishing vessels and increase fueling capacity of the harbor – a win-win for both of New Bedford’s vitally important industries.”

Shoreline Offshore is currently working on final designs and permitting for the new fuel terminal and expects it to be installed and operational by April. New dock space for the crew transfer vessels will also be created, and they are doing some renovations at their office building and warehouse.

The company is also committed to contracting as much of this local infrastructure project as possible to local companies and has already retained the services of local companies in the planning of this project.

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Quinn Fisheries role in New Bedford's commercial fishing industry

Quinn Fisheries President Charles Quinn has been working within New Bedford’s commercial fishing industry for more than 35 years. Quinn Fisheries and Shamrock Fisheries, which owns 12 commercial scallop boats, are other Quinn companies.

The Quinn family brings more than 50 years' experience in the commercial fishing industry and supporting services, including commercial fishing, boat fabrication and repair, fueling and general construction.

They also created the Pope’s Island Passenger terminal along with their recent rehabilitation of Shoreline Marine Terminal North (Revere Copper) in support of New Bedford's marine industrial economy and commercial fishing industry.

“This project provides the capacity for the offshore wind industry to efficiently utilize the New Bedford Harbor while also ensuring New Bedford’s commercial fishing industry can continue operating within the New Bedford Harbor with little to no interruptions,” Charles Quinn said.

“By expanding space through increased berthing spaces and increased fueling capacity, we’re supplying two key components that both industries need, so that both can flourish.”

Partnership gives fishing industry a voice

For Michael Quinn, working with Vineyard Wind gives the fishing industry a voice.

“We historically like to be ahead of the game and look at different opportunities, and I think working with the offshore wind industry is going to give commercial fishermen a voice in how some of these projects end up working out,” he said. “I’d rather be a partner and work with them to try and guide our industry to work in conjunction with them.”

Once installed, the floats will be able to berth up to six CTVs and meet the specifications of the offshore wind industry, with access to a fueling station, potable water, ramp, and full security. This project will also increase fueling capacity in the New Bedford Harbor, which is currently limited to one terminal.

New Bedford businesses included in offshore wind industry

“The New Bedford Ocean Cluster is committed to ensuring local businesses are included in the development of the offshore wind industry in New Bedford,” New Bedford Ocean Cluster Executive Director Jennifer Downing said in the release. “News of this project is particularly exciting because we’re seeing a longstanding family business in New Bedford entering a new market and contributing to the growth of offshore wind, but also a project that will demonstrate the economic benefits of commercial collaboration between two port industries.”

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The 800-megawatt project is located 15 miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard.

Jen Cullen, senior manager of labor relations and workforce development for Vineyard Wind, has been helping to support labor relations and workforce development for the past five years as well as working to localize the supply chain and identify opportunities to partner with local businesses on the wind project.

Cullen said the Quinn family is a key partner, and Vineyard Wind is really excited about this partnership with the longtime New Bedford commercial fishing family interested in partnering with offshore wind as an opportunity to benefit the commercial fishing industry.

How it will work on Pope's Island

From Pope’s Island, the crews for the Vineyard Wind project will board the transfer vessels to take them to the site every day to construct the wind farm from the host site.

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When the project was bid, Vineyard Wind allocated $15 million to support economic development initiatives with $10 million earmarked for its Industry Accelerator initiative to help localizing supply chains for offshore wind, helping to ramp up existing businesses and port facilities to participate in the offshore wind supply chain.

“We started working with the Quinns and identified that they had a space that could be a really good fit for housing our CTVs so we worked with them to allocate some of our funds from the Industry Accelerator so that they could acquire the barges and the infrastructure that would be necessary to host our vessels,” she said.

Vineyard Wind has utilized that funding to get those facilities up and running for their offshore wind project and beyond and has also committed to lease the facilities when they are ready.

Massachusetts Clean Energy Center CEO Jennifer Daloisio said in the press release that Vineyard Wind’s investment in the Accelerator Program represents yet another great example of the advancement of the offshore wind supply chain in the Commonwealth.

“This project will leverage additional MassCEC funding recently announced for the expansion and improvement of port facilities to serve offshore wind,” she said.

While there were some existing options in New Bedford and a few other sites ramping up for offshore wind, Cullen said Pope’s Island is a particularly good fit for the scale of what they were looking for in terms of the size of the boats and the onshore facilities.

Construction to be completed in 18 months

Work has started, and the duration of construction is expected to be completed in 18 months. Vineyard Wind is hoping for early summer with the facility to be ready by May.

Shoreline Offshore is currently working on final designs and permitting for the fuel terminal and expects it to be installed and operational by April 2023.

The company is also committed to contracting as much of this local infrastructure project as possible to local companies and has already retained the services of local companies in the planning of this project.

Cullen said it’s exciting for an existing commercial fishing business that serves the community to be partnering with offshore wind to benefit both industries.

“I think it really is a fantastic demonstration of the fact that offshore wind and commercial fishing actually share a lot of the same interests in upgrading our ports and providing the necessary infrastructure so that we can really grow together in the port communities where we’re working,” she said.

Cullen said there are several facilities that are ramping up in southeastern Massachusetts for offshore wind, and she thinks the facility on Pope’s Island will be one of the first that will come online to serve their project in the early stages of construction offshore.

“I think we’ll really start to see a lot of benefit coming to New Bedford and the city as soon as this facility is up and running and as soon as the construction really takes off, and we’re right on the edge of that right now,” she said.

Standard-Times staff writer Kathryn Gallerani can be reached at kgallerani@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @kgallreporter. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Standard-Times today.

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Vineyard Wind reaches deal with Shoreline Offshore