South Boats Special Projects Ltd. and Seacat Services Ltd., both Isle of Wight, UK based companies announce the signing of a contract for the construction of two further vessels.
Both are South Catamaran 24m WFSV’s, named ‘Seacat Defender’ and ‘Seacat Volunteer’, and will be the fifth and sixth vessels for Seacat Services. With four of the new 24m class of vessels, Seacat Services are one of very few companies to have a comprehensive ‘big boat’ fleet.
The additional vessels have been ordered after Seacat Services secured work for the company’s first two 19m vessels, ‘Seacat Endeavour’ and ‘Seacat Reliance’, following their acceptance in May and June 2012 respectively.
These 24m high specification vessels will both be built to DNV 1A1 HSLC R2 Wind Farm Service 1 and UK flag. Each will feature a soft mounted superstructure and new modular internal arrangement so that the entire configuration of the saloon can be adapted between projects and the requirements of construction and O&M.
Both vessels are capable of carrying 3 x 10ft containers and large cargo payloads. They will be highly specified and powered by twin MTU 12V2000M72 marine engines and Rolls Royce 56A3 water jets for speeds in excess of 28 knots.
Ben Colman of South Boats is quoted as saying “South Boats is delighted to announce this significant order. We look forward to working with Seacat Services and Ian and Nia Baylis on the delivery of all six vessels and to further our relationship with Seacat Services Ltd. through their aggressive development strategy”.
Ian Baylis of Seacat Services is quoted as saying “The excellent progress that the entire team at South Boats have made with our current vessels in build and the impressive way in which they constantly innovate and adapt has given us the confidence to move forward with our expansion plans. We very much look forward to further strengthening our relationship with South Boats and the continued growth of the Seacat fleet”.
[mappress] World Maritime News Staff, February 21, 2012; Image: South Boats Group