Tuesday 29th January 2013, Southampton – Seacat Services, a leading offshore wind farm vessel transfer operator, has warned of the danger of a shortage of class-approved workboats for the UK’s Round 3 offshore wind farm developments.
The comments come at a critical time for the UK offshore wind power market, as the demand for future finance and investment in the sector escalates, as new projects enter construction, and as existing initiatives continue to expand.
This has placed increasing pressure on the European vessel transfer workboat market; with too few class leading, DNV certified vessels available for immediate project charter.
According to Seacat Services, a combination of factors has further exasperated the situation. Most notably, a shortage in competitive finance for new vessels and an escalating demand from the European continent for class certified workboats.
This surge in demand for class certified boats has been driven by increasingly stringent legislation from various flag states, but also the high level of crew certification and experience required for operations.
This, when combined with existing competition for workboat vessels now commonly used for operations and maintenance tasks on existing Round 1 and 2 projects only compounds the issue, leading many industry insiders to be concerned about the implications this might have on project over runs and delays in installation for Round 3 initiatives.
“Unless we see some fairly urgent action taking place in the marine supply chain over the next 12 months, Round 3 developers could struggle to secure the supply of class-leading workboats for future projects,” said Ian Baylis, Managing Director, Seacat Services.
“However, with project developers under pressure to complete projects on time and on budget, it’s not simply a case of the supply chain building more boats. Instead, we need to see a greater emphasis on class certified, high quality vessels that are designed for the toughest of conditions. Only then can developers charter vessels that meet and exceed their increasingly ambitious needs.”
In a separate development, Seacat Services has announced the successful completion of two recent vessel charters; supporting the Greater Gabbard and Anholt offshore wind farms. Collectively the four vessels clocked up over 3,000 hours of uninterrupted, fully operational service.
In 2013 Seacat Services will launch and commission two new 24-metre vessels, focused exclusively on the European offshore wind market. Seacat Defender will be launched in the spring, with Seacat Volunteer due for launch later in the year.
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