Dominion Energy announced that Charybdis, the United States' first Jones Act-compliant offshore wind turbine installation vessel, was successfully launched from land to water, marking a major milestone in the vessel's construction. To achieve this milestone, welding of the ship's hull and commissioning of the vessel's four legs and related jacking system were successfully completed. The 472-foot vessel is being constructed at the Brownsville, Texas shipyard of global marine and offshore engineering group Seatrium, using domestically-sourced steel.

At peak construction, over 1,200 workers were employed on this project. Once complete, the home port for the vessel will be in Hampton Roads, one of the nation's premier offshore wind installation harbors, and utilize an American crew. The vessel's hull and infrastructure was fabricated with more than 14,000 tons of domestic steel, with nearly 10,000 tons sourced from Alabama, West Virginia and North Carolina suppliers.

The vessel is designed to handle turbine sizes of 12 megawatts or larger. The vessel launch marked a historical achievement as the world's largest completed lift totaling 23,000 tons. Also announced on April 15, 2024, the CVOW project received a final construction air permit from the Environmental Protection Agency.

This is the 11th and final federal permit required to begin offshore construction. Offshore monopile installation begins in May.