The nation’s first offshore wind turbine installation vessel has arrived in Hampton Roads, marking a new milestone in the construction of a large-scale wind project off the coast of Virginia Beach.
The Charybdis, named for the mythological whirlpool sea monster in the Odyssey, was built in Brownsville, Texas, and took almost five years and $700 million to construct. It is the first offshore wind turbine installation vessel in the United States that is compliant with the Jones Act, meaning it is built, owned, operated and crewed by Americans.
The Charybdis was delivered to the Portsmouth Marine Terminal on Sept. 17. Jeremy Slayton, a spokesperson for Dominion Energy, said the vessel is currently going through the final checks for its certificate of inspection before it begins work on the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project.
Slayton said the ship will be used to install the 176 wind turbines for the project — including the turbine towers, nacelles and blades — located 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. Charybdis is designed to handle turbine sizes of 12 megawatts or larger, and its crane is capable of lifting up to 2,200 tons.
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Charybdis was officially launched in the water in April 2024 for the first time after the hull’s welding was completed and underwent sea trials this year before setting sail for Hampton Roads.
Charybdis is considered one of the largest vessels of its kind, measuring 472 feet by 184 feet and weighing more than 23,000 tons. The vessel accommodates 119 employees. At peak construction, more than 1,200 workers were employed to build the vessel, according to Dominion Energy.
Slayton said the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project is still on schedule to be completed by the end of 2026. Once finished, it is expected to generate enough electricity to power 660,000 homes and will contribute to company’s goal to decarbonize the grid by mid-century. By early 2026, Slayton said the project will deliver its first electrons to the grid.
The Virginia project remains one of the nation’s few offshore wind projects largely spared from obstacles created by the Trump administration. On the campaign trail, Donald Trump vowed to end the offshore wind industry as soon as he returned to the White House. He said he wants to boost production of fossil fuels in order for the U.S. to have the lowest-cost energy and electricity. Since then, the administration has sought to stop construction on major offshore wind farms, revoked wind energy permits and paused permitting and stopped $679 million in federal funding for a dozen offshore wind projects.
While the project was being built, Dominion Energy paused the installation of monopile foundations in line with whale migration in the mid-Atlantic. Specifically, the pauses began in November and extended into the spring, but at this phase, all foundations have been installed.
Slayton said other operations are permitted to continue year-round, such as the installation of transition pieces, offshore substations and turbines. Dominion also utilizes technology and strategies to reduce interactions with whales. Those include bubble curtains, certified protected species observers and passive acoustic monitoring, which collects sounds underwater so staff can listen for whales or other protected animals.
Eliza Noe, eliza.noe@virginiamedia.com
https://www.dailypress.com/2025/10/16/offshore-wind-turbine-vessel/
