EEW American Offshore Structures Files Chapter 11 as U.S. Offshore Wind Projects Collapse

EEW American Offshore Structures Inc. and affiliate EEW AOS Paulsboro Urban Renewal, LLC filed chapter 11 petitions on April 8, 2026, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey (Case No. 26-13901). The debtors are a subsidiary of Germany-based EEW Group and operate a monopile foundation manufacturing facility at the Paulsboro Marine Terminal in Gloucester County, New Jersey. The filing follows the cancellation of two contracted offshore wind projects, a pending eviction action by the port operator, and ongoing unfair labor practice proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board. Scheduled assets and liabilities each fall in the $10 million to $50 million range, and the debtors indicate that funds will be available for distribution to unsecured creditors.

Debtor(s)	EEW American Offshore Structures Inc. (1 affiliate)
Court	U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of New Jersey
Case Number	26-13901
Petition Date	April 8, 2026
Estimated Assets	$10 million -- $50 million
Estimated Liabilities	$10 million -- $50 million
Equity Holder	EEW AOS Holding GmbH (100%)

EEW Group and the Paulsboro Investment

EEW Group is a Germany-based manufacturer of large-diameter steel pipes and offshore wind foundations. The company began manufacturing monopiles in 2008 at its Rostock, Germany facility and has produced more than 2,200 monopile foundations for European offshore wind farms. In 2024, Sumitomo Corporation of Japan acquired a 45% stake in EEW Offshore Wind EU Holding, which bundles the company's European monopile manufacturing operations. The U.S. subsidiary, EEW American Offshore Structures, was established in 2020 to build the first monopile manufacturing facility in the United States at the Paulsboro Marine Terminal.

Facility and investment. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced a $250 million investment in the Paulsboro facility in December 2020, describing it as the largest industrial offshore wind investment in the United States at that time. Construction began in April 2021 on approximately 70 acres leased from Holt Logistics Corp. at the marine terminal. At full buildout, the facility was projected to include approximately 500,000 square feet of production floor space capable of manufacturing more than 100 monopiles per year and employing over 500 workers. The U.S. Department of Energy Loan Programs Office completed an environmental assessment in connection with potential federal loan support for the project.

Phase 2 expansion. EEW planned a $300 million Phase 2 expansion to add four new buildings for plate-cutting and rolling mills and 437 additional permanent workers. Phase 2 was to bring in-house production capability for full monopile fabrication from raw steel plate. As of mid-2023, the expansion was one year behind schedule, and the subsequent cancellation of the facility's contracted projects halted further construction.

Ocean Wind 1 Cancellation and Orsted's Exit

EEW's U.S. operations were built around contracted offshore wind work. In June 2023, the facility completed the first monopile foundation manufactured in the United States for Orsted's Ocean Wind 1 project, a 1.1 GW development planned for installation at least 13 nautical miles southeast of Atlantic City using up to 98 GE Haliade-X 12 MW turbines. The first completed monopile weighed approximately 3 million pounds and measured 300 feet in length.

Orsted canceled both Ocean Wind 1 and Ocean Wind 2 in October 2023, citing rising interest rates, inflation, and supply chain disruptions. The two projects had a combined planned capacity of 2.2 GW. Orsted had committed to invest $200 million with EEW for monopile manufacturing at Paulsboro. The cancellation voided EEW's primary manufacturing contract. With no buyer for the completed monopiles, workers at the facility disassembled and recycled over a dozen monopiles for scrap beginning in late 2023. Orsted subsequently agreed to pay the State of New Jersey $125 million for pulling out of the two wind projects, less than half the $300 million originally guaranteed.

Atlantic Shores Agreement and Shell's Withdrawal

EEW held a separate agreement to supply monopile foundations to the Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind project, a 50-50 joint venture between Shell and EDF Renewables. In December 2022, Atlantic Shores Project 1 executed a Pre-Commitment and Capacity Reservation Agreement with EEW-AOS for monopile fabrication on its 1.5 GW project, which Atlantic Shores said would generate enough energy to power over 700,000 homes and deliver $848 million in guaranteed local economic benefits to New Jersey. The agreement was intended to provide EEW-AOS the order book commitments needed to support Phase 2 construction.

In January 2025, Shell withdrew from the Atlantic Shores joint venture, disclosing a $996 million impairment associated with the project. Shell assigned its membership interest to EDF. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency subsequently pulled a Clean Air Act permit for the Atlantic Shores project, citing President Trump's January 2025 executive order on offshore wind. The loss of both Ocean Wind 1 and Atlantic Shores left EEW's facility without contracted work.

Federal Policy Shift and Offshore Wind Industry Context

The Trump administration imposed a moratorium on new offshore wind leases in January 2025. In December 2025, the Interior Department issued a work stoppage halting construction on five wind farms off the East Coast, citing national security concerns. The administration also imposed a 50% tariff on wind turbine parts and components, most of which are produced in Europe and China, and announced that federal tax credits for wind and solar developers would end in July 2026. In March 2026, the U.S. government agreed to pay TotalEnergies $928 million to scuttle two planned wind farms off the coasts of New Jersey and North Carolina. These federal actions removed the pipeline of future projects that could have replaced EEW's lost contracts at Paulsboro.

Eviction Action at Paulsboro Marine Terminal

Holt Logistics Corp., the operator of the Paulsboro Marine Terminal, filed a three-count complaint in Gloucester County Superior Court on October 7, 2025, seeking to evict EEW from the facility. The lawsuit alleged breach of the lease agreement after offshore wind production stalled, violations of state fire codes following a fire incident, and violations of federal labor laws. The lease specifically authorized construction of 400-foot-long steel supports and other wind components. According to Holt, EEW removed all improvements that would allow monopile fabrication from the site during the summer of 2025. EEW filed a counterclaim denying the allegations, asserting that the fire was contained and that code violations were addressed.

NLRB Proceedings and Labor Disputes

In April 2023, the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council No. 21 filed a representation petition covering 18 blasters and painters at the Paulsboro facility, but withdrew the petition in May 2023 before an election was held. Separately, workers at EEW American Offshore Structures voted to unionize in July 2023, with approximately 50 employees choosing representation by the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers. The organizing effort began months before the formal NLRB election petition filed on June 22, 2023.

Following the union election, the Ironworkers filed unfair labor practice charges against EEW in October 2023, alleging interrogation, coercive statements including threats and promises of benefits, and surveillance under Section 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act. An Administrative Law Judge issued a decision on February 13, 2025, and the case was transferred to the NLRB Board for review. The NLRB docket lists fifteen additional open unfair labor practice cases involving EEW American Offshore Structures.

Professional Retentions and Filing Posture

The debtors appointed Tom Pratt of Applied Business Strategy LLC as chief restructuring officer. Pratt is a Certified Insolvency & Restructuring Advisor with more than 30 years of experience as an independent director, receiver, and restructuring adviser, and previously served as CRO in the energy and environmental services sectors. Brett S. Theisen of Connell Foley LLP serves as bankruptcy counsel. Theisen is co-chair of Connell Foley's Corporate Restructuring & Bankruptcy practice, which the firm launched in February 2026 with a team of five attorneys recruited from Gibbons P.C. His prior debtor representations include New England Motor Freight and United Gilsonite Laboratories. Hilco Corporate Finance is engaged as financial adviser. Hilco Corporate Finance is a subsidiary of Hilco Global and advises on restructurings, asset dispositions, and distressed M&A transactions.

Case posture. EEW AOS Holding GmbH, the German parent entity, holds 100% of the equity in the debtors. The debtors' schedules place both assets and liabilities in the $10 million to $50 million range. The chapter 11 filing stays the Holt Logistics eviction action and the pending NLRB proceedings while the debtors address creditor claims under court supervision.

Key Timeline

Date	Event
December 2020	Governor Murphy announces $250 million Paulsboro facility investment
April 2021	Construction begins at Paulsboro Marine Terminal on 70 acres
December 2022	Atlantic Shores signs capacity reservation agreement with EEW
June 2023	EEW completes first U.S.-manufactured monopile for Ocean Wind 1
July 2023	Workers vote to join Ironworkers union
October 2023	Ironworkers file unfair labor practice charges against EEW
October 2023	Orsted cancels Ocean Wind 1 and Ocean Wind 2
Late 2023	EEW begins scrapping completed monopiles
May 2024	Orsted agrees to pay New Jersey $125 million settlement
January 2025	Shell exits Atlantic Shores; Trump administration imposes offshore wind lease moratorium
February 2025	NLRB ALJ issues decision on unfair labor practice charges
October 2025	Holt Logistics files eviction complaint in Gloucester County Superior Court
December 2025	Interior Department halts construction on five East Coast wind farms
April 8, 2026	EEW American Offshore Structures files chapter 11 in the District of New Jersey

Frequently Asked Questions

What does EEW American Offshore Structures manufacture?

EEW American Offshore Structures operated the first monopile foundation manufacturing facility in the United States. Monopiles are large cylindrical steel structures driven into the seabed to support offshore wind turbines. The Paulsboro Marine Terminal facility in New Jersey was built with a $250 million investment and at full buildout was designed to produce more than 100 monopiles per year across approximately 500,000 square feet of production space.

Why did EEW American Offshore Structures file chapter 11?

The filing followed the cancellation of both contracted offshore wind projects that the facility was built to serve. Orsted canceled Ocean Wind 1 and Ocean Wind 2 in October 2023, and Shell exited the Atlantic Shores project in January 2025. Holt Logistics Corp. filed an eviction complaint against EEW in October 2025, and federal policy changes including a lease moratorium and construction stoppages eliminated the pipeline of future offshore wind projects.

Who is the parent company of EEW American Offshore Structures?

EEW AOS Holding GmbH, a German entity, holds 100% of the equity. The ultimate parent is EEW Group, a Germany-based manufacturer of large-diameter steel pipes and offshore wind foundations that has produced more than 2,200 monopile foundations at its facilities in Germany and Asia.

Will unsecured creditors receive distributions?

The debtors' schedules indicate that funds are expected to be available for distribution to holders of unsecured claims. Specific recovery amounts have not been disclosed at this early stage of the case.

Who are the key professionals in the case?

Brett S. Theisen of Connell Foley LLP serves as bankruptcy counsel, Hilco Corporate Finance is the financial adviser, and Tom Pratt of Applied Business Strategy LLC has been appointed as chief restructuring officer.

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