UK: Scarborough Enters into Offshore Wind Industry

The first offshore wind support vessel ever to be based in Scarborough harbour took up its berth at the weekend. The vessel’s arrival marks the start of what Yorkshire’s business community predict will be a brand new industry for the coastal area, which in the longer term is set to bring a wealth of benefits to the local and regional economy through direct investment, jobs and demand for supporting industries.

The 22m vessel ‘Dalby Trent’, owned by Dalby Offshore Renewables, will be using Scarborough harbour as its home port after the company recently won contracts on the Westernmost Rough offshore wind development.

Westernmost Rough is located in the North Sea approx 8km off the Yorkshire Coast, south of Scarborough. The development, which is being undertaken by DONG Energy, is currently under construction. When complete it will consist of 35, six megawatt (MW), turbines, covering a total area of 35km2 and providing enough electricity to power around 200,000 homes.

Vessel owner and Managing Director of Dalby Offshore Renewables, Stuart McNiven said:

 “It is fantastic to be able to run this vessel out of Scarborough. My family and I live in the Scarborough area and we are very pleased to be bringing some of this activity and employment to the town; the crew are also local.

 “The vessel will be operating out of the port for the next few months providing support to the wind farm construction crews. Hopefully this is only the start of what potentially could be a significant growth in the number of offshore wind support vessels utilising the borough’s ports in the near future.”

 Cllr Mike Cockerill, Scarborough Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Harbours said:

 “The offshore wind sector is set to boom over the coming 18 to 24 months and both Scarborough and Whitby ports have a very strong opportunity to secure some of the action. We will do everything possible to ensure we accommodate this and future vessels into the harbour.

 “We hope Dalby Trent will be the first of many such vessels using our facilities and adding to the vibrancy and diversification of the ports’ current activities. We will be working closely with Dalby Offshore Renewables to make sure this venture is a success.”

 Cllr Derek Bastiman, Scarborough Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration added:

 “We have been working closely with the Government and the offshore industry over the past three years to ensure the borough wins its place at the table when offshore wind developments take place off the Yorkshire Coast. Dalby Offshore Renewables is the first such support company to utilise the port and we believe this will prove to be a test bed for a growth of activity over the coming months.

 “The economic impact of such activity should not be underestimated. The offshore wind industry is set to invest over £40bn in the North Sea in the coming decade at Westernmost Rough, Hornsea and the Dogger Bank. It is estimated that over 40,000 jobs will be created and that there will be in excess of 1,500 vessels supporting the industry. We are ideally placed geographically to benefit from this activity and only need to secure a small proportion to make a significant difference to the viability and success of our ports and our economy. As always we are very optimistic about the future.”

Dalby Offshore Services Ltd currently owns, operates and charters eleven offshore support vessels, six of which are wind farm related, including a large accommodation and cable laying vessel ASV Pioneer.

The company at this time is involved in the provision of a wide variety of offshore services around the globe including crew transfer, operations and maintenance activity, cable laying, offshore accommodation provision, maritime survey activity, workforce welfare etc. The company’s head office is located in Beverley employing approximately 12 people with more than 65 employees based offshore.

It is also part of the international salvage team currently tasked with raising the ill-fated luxury liner “Costa Concordia” from the coast of the Island of Gigolo in Italy.

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Press release, September 13, 2013; Image: dalby