Trump’s assault on offshore wind brings ship orders to a standstill, Seatrium contract affected
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Orders for new US offshore wind vessels have stopped.
PHOTO: MAERSK SUPPLY SERVICE
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Los Angeles – US shipbuilders and port operators are getting hit in the fallout from President Donald Trump’s campaign to wipe out the offshore wind industry, suffering hundreds of millions of dollars in lost government support, vanishing vessel orders and an uncertain future for the billions of dollars worth of investments.
The impact represents an unintended consequence of his policy on the offshore wind industry, which has included stop-work orders and permit reviews for massive projects that were spurred by former president Joe Biden’s green investment policy.
Mr Trump calls offshore wind an unsightly and inefficient technology that harms whales and birds.
But he is also a huge supporter of US maritime industries that he views as crucial in the global competition for trade and military dominance of the high seas.
“He has a counterproductive argument,” said Mr Joe Orgeron, a Republican Louisiana state representative and former offshore vessel business owner, who pointed out that the offshore wind industry was responsible for many ship orders in recent years.
“That all came to a sudden halt, unfortunately.”
Reuters interviewed 13 port representatives, shipbuilders and trade groups over the knock-on impacts of Mr Trump’s policy moves targeting offshore wind.
Orders for new offshore wind service vessels – designed to carry workers and huge turbines offshore or to lay undersea cables – have disappeared, according to trade group Oceantic Network. This followed a busy 2024 that saw the launch of at least 10 US vessels built to serve offshore wind.
Existing vessels are being sold off, or considered for redeployment to other global regions.
The Trump administration said it can revive the US shipbuilding and port industry, which has suffered from years of cost-inflation and a dearth of government support, without offshore wind’s support.
“This administration will restore America’s maritime dominance by modernising our ports and expanding our shipbuilding capacities to compete with communist China,” the US Department of Transportation told Reuters.
“We’re also doing it as quickly and cost-effectively as possible – two attributes completely absent in offshore wind manufacturing.”
Seatrium cancellation
Danish shipping giant Maersk in October cancelled a US$475 million (S$617 million) contract with Singapore-listed Seatrium
Equinor’s Empire Wind had been embroiled in Mr Trump’s opposition to offshore wind earlier in 2025 when the administration issued a stop-work order that delayed its construction for a month.
Seatrium said it is evaluating its options for the vessel, which is nearly fully built, and could take legal action.
Offshore wind’s rise in the US had fuelled robust demand for many such vessels, including several built in US shipyards or flying US flags, according to Oceantic Network.
It said the sector cumulatively has attracted US$5.1 billion in port investments and US$1.8 billion in vessel orders.
Among the vessels built is the US$715 million Charybdis, the only US-flagged wind turbine installation vessel, which is now working on Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project.
Louisiana’s Edison Chouest built two major offshore worker housing vessels for Equinor and Orsted projects currently under construction.
But that work is drying up.
Offshore wind developer US Wind said in court documents filed in October that it was on track to secure specialised vessels for offshore wind installation, but the Trump administration’s efforts to stop its Maryland project disrupted that progress.
Such vessels are scarce and booked years in advance, requiring early action to meet construction timelines, the company noted.
Rhode Island’s Blount Boats, which began building crew transfer vessels for offshore wind in 2016, said it has stopped completely.
“We’ve moved on,” said executive vice-president Julie Blount. “There are no contracts for those boats, and it’s simply because the Trump administration has closed that down.”
Some existing vessels serving offshore wind are being sold off.
Houston-based Seacor Marine announced in August it would sell two US-flagged liftboats – used on the Block Island and South Fork offshore wind farms – to Nigerian oil and gas services company JAD Construction for US$76 million, citing delays and cancellations.
Other ships face uncertain futures. The US$200 million Acadia, America’s first rock installation vessel, will likely work overseas after completing jobs for Equinor and Orsted. The company has no plans for more offshore wind vessels.
Ports reeling too
Oceantic Network estimated in 2024 that more than two dozen US ports were pursuing offshore wind projects. Many of those lost critical funding after the US Department of Transportation cancelled 12 grants worth US$679 million in August, hitting projects in states including Massachusetts, New York, California, Maryland and Virginia.
“It’s realistic to look at the current landscape and see that this industry is going to be deeply challenged by the current administration,” said Salem Mayor Dominick Pangallo, whose city’s port project is struggling after a funding cancellation.
In Maryland, US Wind said it is sticking with its plan for a shoreline steel manufacturing facility that could serve the shipbuilding and energy industries despite the cancellation of a US$47.4 million port grant and the administration’s plans to revoke the permit for its offshore wind project.
But US Wind has also warned in court documents that it could face bankruptcy if its project is cancelled. REUTERS
