Over the past year, Otto Candies LLC has made valuable contributions to offshore wind projects across the United States, facilitating crew and equipment transport. Having been a longtime partner of the offshore oil and gas industry, the Louisiana marine transportation company’s venture into offshore wind exemplifies Otto Candies’ commitment to innovation and forward-thinking.
Otto Candies has provided some of the only retrofitted service operations vessels (SOVs) to the U.S. offshore wind industry, playing a crucial role in the success of Northeast projects like South Fork Wind and Vineyard Wind. Oceantic Network CEO Liz Burdock and her team recently visited the Port of Providence in Rhode Island, and boarded the SOV Cade Candies to experience one of Otto Candies’ retrofitted vessels firsthand.
Cade Candies accommodates 70 offshore workers and has a 105-person capacity, featuring office rooms, a private cinema, a gym, a conference room, a business center and a 6-bed hospital. Another vessel, Paul Candies, offers similar amenities, and the company has already retrofitted another SOV for offshore wind, with plans to get a fourth operational soon. Each vessel is crewed by 10-12 Otto Candies’ employees, plus two walk-to-work operators, two crane operators, and a catering crew.
Oceantic Network spoke with Otto Candies IV, a co-owner and Business Development and Operations leader, about the company’s foray into offshore wind and its future. The discussion delves into how a Gulf Coast company became involved in Northeastern offshore wind projects, the advantages of offshore wind, and why Otto Candies views it as a vital part of their future business.
Oceantic Network: What services does Otto Candies provide to the offshore wind industry?
Otto Candies IV: We have brought customized solutions to the industry by providing existing U.S.-flagged, Jones Act-compliant assets to the offshore wind industry. Through our innovative approach, we used our in-house engineering to provide cost-efficient assets to our customers and get vessels to work supporting offshore wind. We have worked on South Fork Wind, Vineyard Wind, and Revolution Wind, and will be working on the Dominion Energy Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project. To do this, we converted a number of our assets to be utilized in this space.
Oceantic: Why has retrofitting been the right pathway for your company into offshore wind? What does retrofitting entail?
Candies IV: This is exclusively the way that we have forayed into the offshore wind industry. We rented the walk-to-work systems and portable accommodation module (PAM) units to outfit our vessels with. This was a very cost-effective solution for our customers. Each vessel was also outfitted with a boat landing to accept Crew Transfer Vessels (CTV).
The Paul Candies is a 331-foot Inspection, Maintenance and Repair vessel that we outfitted with a walk-to-work gangway to be able to accommodate the personnel transfer of technicians offshore. The Cade Candies was also outfitted with a walk-to-work gangway and was retrofitted with portable accommodation units on the back deck to increase the amount of personnel that could be housed on the vessel. The M/V Wyatt Candies was outfitted with a claw mechanism to its offshore crane to facilitate the relocation of boulders offshore. The Ross Candies is currently being outfitted with an E-5000 Amplemann Gangway — the only one in the world. This walk-to-work gangway has an increased lifting capacity of five tons, much more than the typical one-ton limit on E-1000 gangways.
Oceantic: How did you first identify offshore wind as an area of new growth?
Candies IV: We first identified offshore wind as a new area for growth during the down years of offshore oil and gas. We were looking for ways to diversify our portfolio and offshore wind was the answer. There were a number of bids coming out for newbuilds, and through our innovative solutions, we were able to present our existing assets as competitive options for this industry.
Oceantic: Did you face any obstacles getting into the industry?
Candies IV: The obstacles that we faced in this new industry were location based. We were operating in a region we had never worked in before and we needed to figure out how to operate in the Northeast. We overcame this by making strategic relationships with local operators in the area to help facilitate our project logistics.
Oceantic: As an early adopter of offshore wind on the Gulf Coast, what lessons do you have for other companies looking to expand into the industry?
Candies IV: We have a lot of experience in the Gulf Coast on how to operate offshore in the energy industry. If there is something that you provide as a service for offshore oil and gas, chances are there is a need for it in the offshore wind space. Working with local partners that know the region and the players in the Northeast is crucial. We cannot do this alone, and we need to be able to find good partners to work with. There are a lot of good, hard-working people in the Northeast that can help.
Oceantic: How do you think the Gulf Coast should perceive future offshore wind projects?
Candies IV: I think that the Gulf Coast should perceive offshore wind as a great way to diversify. We do not need to be handcuffed to the boom-and-bust cycles of the oil and gas industry. Offshore wind gives us the opportunity to expand our service offerings and show the world what Cajun ingenuity is all about. I think there is a great opportunity to utilize offshore wind as a supplementary energy form to help reduce our carbon footprint. We have one of the most robust energy industries in the world and we can use this to our advantage.
Oceantic: How do you foresee your role in offshore wind expanding, or changing, as more projects advance?
Candies IV: I see Otto Candies’ role in offshore wind growing over the next 5-10 years. As this industry becomes more mature, more opportunities will present themselves. We have designs for newbuild vessels and are ready to answer the call to expand our services to this industry. Our long-term goals for offshore wind are to maintain our current position in the market and continually chase new opportunities that arise.
Oceantic: Offshore wind projects are epicenters for mariners from the U.S. and Europe, creating opportunities for skills sharing. Has Otto Candies observed collaboration between the two groups?
Candies IV: We have certainly seen this collaborative work environment. We are constantly having communications with our customers on how we can approach the work in offshore wind. Our mariners are very capable of serving the needs of this industry and have been proven to be an asset to our customers. There is an opportunity for the U.S. workforce to provide some specialized personnel to handle walk-to-work operations and even technician work. Our vessel crew already receives specialized training to complete this work and has been excellent in supporting this industry.
We have mariners that are from the Northeast region and working close to home has been great for them. Some of them were able to have family see the vessels they work on, which was something they thought would never be possible.
Oceantic: How has Oceantic Network helped your company get involved in the offshore wind space?
Candies IV: I’d say the most helpful tool that Oceantic Network provides is the International Partnering Forum (IPF). This brings together everyone in the industry and really allows for people to talk about what issues are truly at hand and how we can continue to improve the industry. It also provides an opportunity to meet new people and expand business opportunities. The member updates are also very helpful in keeping up to date with everything that is going on in the industry.
Oceantic: What does it mean to you as a business owner to be able to provide new work and jobs for your employees and American communities?
Candies IV: This is a very humbling opportunity for us as a company. We do not have a company if it is not for the mariners and shoreside personnel that work so hard at making our company successful. Our personnel are a representation of our company and they are the heart of our operations. Being able to provide new work and jobs for our employees is a way to repay and honor their hard work and dedication they put into this every day.
