UK: Tidal Transit Expands Its Fleet of Crew Transfer Vessels

Leo Hambro, Commercial Director of Tidal Transit, has announced that the company has just placed an order for the manufacture of the third, in its potential fleet of ten, innovative wind farm crew transfer vessels.

To be named Tia Elizabeth, this new vessel will be built to exactly the same high specification as its two sister craft, Ginny Louise and Eden Rose, apart from the fitment of a rear crane which can be used for the deployment of a rescue craft, such as an inflatable rib.

These vessels are purpose-designed for use by companies involved in the planning, development and construction of offshore wind farms in the Greater Wash and the North Sea, and are built to cope with the rough seas, and the subsequent difficult working conditions, encountered by this burgeoning North Sea energy industry.

Tia Elizabeth will be built by Mercurio Plastics, the same boat builder that built its two sister vessels, and Tidal Transit is expecting to take delivery of her during March 2013.

The growing team at Tidal Transit is very upbeat about the pace of growth in the offshore wind farm sector, and Leo Hambro commented:

“As the UK strives to meet its renewable energy targets, I believe we will see a huge increase in new wind farm projects in the North Sea. Currently there are offshore projects progressing off the coasts of the UK, Germany and The Netherlands, and last week’s announcement that North Norfolk’s Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm project had been acquired, and will be developed, by the two Norwegian companies Statoil and Statkraft was good news. These are exciting times for Tidal Transit.”

The specification of these vessels greatly exceeds the current fleet being used for the same purpose in the UK. The vessels MCA Cat 1 coding and 10,000 litre fuel tanks allow them to work up to 150 miles offshore, well within the range of the UK’s forthcoming Round 3 offshore wind farms. Each vessel provides four crew members and twelve passengers with comfortable beds, bathrooms, galley, internet access and entertainment facilities, allowing wind farm engineers and support technicians to live and work offshore for up to several days at a time.

Being of rugged GRP construction enables Tidal Transit’s vessels to operate in rough seas – a major advantage when working in the North Sea. Twin V12 MAN engines facilitate speeds of up to 27 knots when carrying twelve passengers, the crew, and their on-board cargo. Massive cargo decks fore and aft can accommodate up to 10,000kg of tools, equipment and spares, and the Guerra crane on the fore deck has a lifting capacity of 1,025kg at 6.9m, which caters for long reach loading and unloading. Cranes can also be deployed for camera surveys and grab sampling.

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Tidal Transit, October 23, 2012