The Long Island Commercial Fishing Association is among the groups calling for a renewed halt to the construction of the Empire Wind 1 offshore wind farm, which was the subject of a stop-work order in April that was lifted just a month later.
The organizations, which include Protect Our Coast-New Jersey and the Nantucket-based ACK for Whales, have called on Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to issue a stop-work order on the 54-turbine, 810-megawatt project, which is to span 80,000 acres in the New York Bight and send renewable electricity to New York City. Mr. Burgum had done just that on April 16, reportedly at the urging of Representatives Chris Smith and Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey and with the support of Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman.
A month later, the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management informed Equinor, the Norwegian company that is constructing the wind farm, that the stop-work order had been lifted, allowing construction to resume. Gov. Kathy Hochul took credit for the reversal, saying that she had “spent weeks pushing the federal government to rescind the stop-work order” so that construction on “this important source of renewable power” could proceed.
The groups seeking to halt the project cited the June 2 death of a subcontractor aboard a platform supply vessel.
“Unlike [the federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement’s] public reporting for oil and gas accidents, there is currently no centralized public reporting website for offshore wind fatalities or injuries,” the groups said in a statement. “The public, press, and fishing community were never informed of this fatality, echoing the lack of transparency seen after the Vineyard Wind LM107P blade implosion on July 13, 2024, when 55 tons of material were deposited into the ocean and washed onto Nantucket’s beaches, only disclosed 48 hours later.”
Equinor was informed of a fatal injury to a subcontractor’s crew member “who was performing vessel maintenance aboard a support vessel preparing for work on the Empire Wind project,” an Equinor spokesman told The Star.
Tidewater, the subcontracting company, issued a statement on Friday. “Tidewater confirms with deep regret that a fatal incident occurred aboard one of its vessels, resulting in the death of a crew member.” The incident happened on its supply vessel Polaris while it was conducting normal operations, according to Tidewater. “Emergency response procedures were immediately initiated, and despite the efforts of the crew and emergency response agencies, the crew member tragically passed away.” The subcontractor provided no additional details except to say that it is cooperating with the Coast Guard in an investigation to determine the cause of the incident.
“This is a tragic marine accident,” Molly Morris, senior vice president for Equinor Renewables Americas, said in a statement. “Our thoughts are with the family, friends, and colleagues who have lost a loved one. We extend our deepest condolences to all those affected.”
The entities calling for a halt to the wind farm’s construction are among groups that filed a federal lawsuit toward that end in New Jersey District Court on June 3. They also seek to nullify Equinor’s Empire Wind l lease, arguing that it violates the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act because of Equinor’s majority ownership by the Norwegian government.
“The working men and women who bring sustainable seafood to America consumers’ plates risk extinction,” Bonnie Brady, executive director of the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association and a Montauk resident, said in a statement. “We cannot stand by and let that happen.”
Equinor would not comment on pending litigation. In a statement provided to The Star, the company said that it had signed its federal lease for Empire Wind in 2017. “The project has undergone years of rigorous permitting an studies, and secured all necessary federal, state, and local approvals to begin construction in 2024,” the spokesman said.
