UK Vessel Operator Starts Fleet-Wide Offshore Wind Recruitment Drive

December 20, 2022, by Adnan Durakovic

UK infrastructure vessel support operator, North Star, has launched a recruitment drive for crew ahead of its first hybrid-powered offshore wind fleet arriving in UK waters early next year.

The company, which has facilities in Aberdeen, Lowestoft, and Newcastle, is aiming to hire 42 qualified seafarers in the next couple of months, the beginning of a commitment to recruit over 170 seafarers across the next 18 months to support the first of the company’s four new service operations vessels (SOVs), all destined for the Dogger Bank Wind Farm development off the East Yorkshire coast, a joint venture between SSE Renewables, Equinor, and Vårgrønn.

SOVs are used in-field as living quarters for offshore wind turbine operation and maintenance technicians, allowing them to be transferred to and from work whilst providing a centralised hub for logistics.

North Star is looking to hire personnel into roles including ship’s master, chief officer, second officer, gangway and crane operators, as well as electrical engineers.

This initial workforce boost is part of North Star’s plan to hire 170 personnel in the next 18 months to operate on its first four SOVs as well as the fleet’s associated daughter craft, which are the renewables sector’s first to utilise hybrid propulsion.

”Our four state-of-the-art SOVs are on 10-year minimum charters to the Dogger Bank Wind Farm, which presents a host of exciting seafaring career opportunities with long-term prospects,” Steve Myers, North Star’s SOV operations director, said.

”As our unique vessel design utilises the most cutting-edge solutions including AI and machine learning technologies, walk-to-work gangways, and dynamic positioning, we have developed a programme of transition training to help upskill our current crew with their offshore wind career ambitions. The additional new hires will work across both the SOVs as well as backfill openings within our existing fleet, ensuring we maintain our inclusive company culture and leverage a collective expertise to deliver safe and efficient operations in-field.”

This recent recruitment drive is underpinned by North Star’s ongoing cadet programme. As the country’s largest employer of offshore cadets, it invests GBP 1 million annually in their development.

”Investment in the new generation is at the heart of what we do and, with scalability being one of our core missions, this recruitment drive supports the next phase of our ambitious offshore wind growth plan to achieve a fleet of 40 new SOVs by 2040,” North Star’s CEO Matthrew Gordon said.

”Earlier this month (December), we secured a £140million financing package as we aim to seize additional contracts in the UK and new opportunities in Europe. This investment has opened the door wider for more sustainable careers for both cadets and the more experienced seafarers we retain and attract as the industry transitions. We are not just hiring people to carry out a job, we aim to create a strong pipeline of skilled talent as we encourage and support our people to develop their careers.”