Wednesday 29th May 2013, Southampton – Seacat Services, the class leading vessel transfer operator, has launched its latest vessel, ‘Seacat Defender’. The vessel, built by South Boats Isle of Wight Limited, will now undergo extensive sea trials, before deployment on a major European offshore wind farm in July.
With growing pressure to deliver a series of fully operational offshore wind farms ahead of Round 3, there is an increasing demand for large, multipurpose workboats, to quickly and efficiently transport engineers and project teams around the construction and operation and maintenance phases of offshore wind developments.
This, combined with an increasing focus to safeguard and protect the engineering teams working onsite, often in extreme weather conditions, has led many of the major developers demanding high quality, certified vessels. This enables them to be quickly and easily deployed on projects throughout Europe and Scandinavia.
‘Seacat Defender’ is a full DNV classed 24-metre, aluminum catamaran, powered by twin MTU 12V 2000M72 engines producing 2900HP enabling the vessel to operate in extremely challenging weather conditions. The vessel is the third 24-metre specialist craft to have been commissioned, launched and chartered by Seacat Services in the past eighteen months. It is the fifth vessel to join the fleet and marks a significant milestone in the European operator’s charter capacity and reach.
“As the demands of the European offshore wind industry continue to develop and evolve, so too do the challenges placed on existing specialised vessels and their crew” said Ian Baylis, Managing Director, Seacat Services.
“Developers and project owners are increasingly looking for class-certified vessels that can operate in the widest possible weather windows, that provide a safe platform for personnel operations and that have the capacity to manage and deliver larger cargo loads.”
“In common with all our workboats, Seacat Defender is a class certified vessel that can be rapidly deployed in international waters. Manned by an experienced and highly trained crew, the launch of this latest 24-metre vessel provides another clear demonstration of our long-term commitment to the market and our ongoing desire to set the highest possible industry standards.”
“In the past two years, South Boats Isle of Wight Limited has commissioned and built all five of our twin-hulled workboats. Working closely with the boat builder, with project developers, the engineers working onsite and our crew, we’re confident that we’re supplying the industry with the best kit, wherever and whenever it’s needed most.”
Following the completion of sea trials, ‘Seacat Defender’ will be on display at Seawork 2013, in Southampton from 25th to 27th June.
To request a tour of the vessel, to discuss future charter agreements or for photography and images of the vessel launch, please email marketing@seacatservices.co.uk.
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