A specially equipped boat navigates turbulent seas, landing its rubber nose smack against the steel foundation of a monstrous offshore wind turbine, delivering technicians to make repairs and perform maintenance tasks.
This is the mission of Atlantic Wind Transfers, a company that transports personnel and equipment to offshore wind farms in the Atlantic Ocean. It is the first-of-its-kind business in the United States.
The business involves a $4 million, 62-foot-long catamaran playing chicken with a wind turbine to transport personnel to an offshore wind farm. The boat, known as a crew transfer vessel, has a specially designed rubber bumper that adheres to a wind turbine’s steel foundation.
“It’s the coolest part, and the scariest part, of the operation,” said Charlie Donadio Jr., founder, CEO and president of the North Kingstown-based company, noting that captains are trained to “avoid obstacles when docking” a boat.
“This is the exact opposite of what they are taught,” he said. “In this case, they’re trying to hit something softly. That something is steel out in the open ocean amid high winds and tides.”
Donadio spent years researching the business in the United Kingdom and Europe before landing the contract to service the Block Island Wind Farm. He said he did his homework, consulting with Seacat Services in the U.K., and built the company with “a lot of hard work and persistence.”
“It’s in my DNA to be persistent,” said Donadio, who began operating the business six years ago. “When you become an entrepreneur, you can’t stop thinking about your business. You have to always keep thinking about it. It’s like a curse, but a good curse.”
Building the business, a complement to his Rhode Island Fast Ferry Inc. business, did not come easy. Donadio said it took repeated phone calls to then-Deepwater Wind LLC CEO Jeffrey Grybowski to land his first contract. That was when the Block Island Wind Farm was still in its permitting stage.
Atlantic Wind Transfers now operates two crew transfer vessels: the Atlantic Pioneer and Atlantic Endeavor. The company began servicing the Block Island Wind Farm in 2016, and the Dominion Energy-owned Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Farm in December. The Pioneer is stationed in Rhode Island and the Endeavor in Virginia.
Donadio’s career began in 1995 with what he called “a summer business.” That is when he owned and operated the Southland Riverboat, a 150-passenger vessel that offered sightseeing cruises in Point Judith.
Three years later, he founded Island Hi-Speed Ferry LLC, which operated the first high-speed ferry to Block Island from Point Judith. Donadio sold his ownership interest in 2003 to start up Rhode Island Fast Ferry, operating a high-speed ferry to Martha’s Vineyard.
Donadio said his sights are always set on “growing and diversifying” his business. “You have to look into the future with your business,” he said. “You have to have that vision. I am always looking forward.”
The bottom line to achieving success, said Donadio, is that it comes down to a lot of hard work and persistence.
“You have to have persistence when you’re building a business,” he said. “You can’t wait for the phone to ring. You have to make the calls. You have to chase down your dreams, and you have to make it happen.”
OWNER: Charlie Donadio Jr.
TYPE OF BUSINESS: Offshore wind farm marine crew transfer
LOCATION: 1347 Roger Williams Way, North Kingstown
EMPLOYEES: 12
YEAR FOUNDED: 2015
ANNUAL REVENUE: WND
Cassius Shuman is a PBN staff writer. Email him at Shuman@PBN.com.
