The charter demand for the latest generation of offshore wind farm Personnel Transport Vessels [PTVs] from Tidal Transit Limited has enabled this young North Norfolk company to commission the construction of a fourth vessel with Spanish boat builder Mercurio Plastics.
Kitty Petra will be constructed to the same specification as her three sister vessels, and she is expected to arrive in the UK in early Spring 2014.
In confirming this latest vessel construction contract, Tidal Transit Commercial Director Leo Hambro said:
“Activity associated with offshore wind farms in the waters surrounding the UK is frenetic. A number of wind farms are already in operation and we are delighted that Tidal Transit’s existing fleet of three rugged, high specification PTVs [Ginny Louise, Eden Rose and Tia Elizabeth] has been chosen to provide daily 12-hour charter transport for the turbine technicians who maintain the Sheringham Shoal Offshore Wind Farm.”
“Construction is scheduled to commence on at least five other major offshore wind energy power plants off the coast of Lincolnshire and East Anglia over the next 18/24 months, and there is already a demand for suitable vessels to support these projects for tasks including seabed surveys and met-mast installation and maintenance. I have every confidence that, like her sister vessels, Kitty Petra will go straight to work when she arrives in the UK next year.”
He added: “The majority of offshore wind farm operators have a 50 year licence from the Crown Estate, so daily routine maintenance is going to play a huge role in the output efficiency of all offshore wind farms. Transporting technicians to the wind farms to undertake that work will therefore create a high demand for safe, reliable vessels for many years to come.”
[mappress]
Press release, October 15, 2013; Image: tidaltransit