Alicat & South Boats IOW, the UK’s manufacturer of state of the art Wind Farm Service Vessels (WFSVs), has received a £5.5 million, two-workboat order from Lowestoft-based operator Iceni Marine Services.
With Lowestoft having just been selected as the base for operations and maintenance for the planned 340MW Galloper wind farm off the East Coast, the deal serves to illustrate the significance of establishing strong regional hubs to support this industry growth.
The Iceni Vengeance and her sister vessel Iceni Venture will expand the Iceni fleet of South Catamarans to 6, demonstrating the strength of the ongoing relationship with Alicat & South Boats IOW. Both vessels will be delivered in March 2015.
The all-new 22m South Catamaran design, which benefitted from an extensive research and development programme, was developed in collaboration with Iceni to ensure that the technical requirements of the operator were met.
The two vessels, which will each carry 12 technicians alongside 3 crewmembers to and from wind farm developments in UK and wider European waters, will be almost identical, but will make use of different propulsion systems. Vengeance, to be built at the Alicat yard in Great Yarmouth, will use Hamilton water jet propulsion, with sprint speeds of up to 30 knots. Her Cowes-built sister vessel, Venture, is South Boats’ first to employ a controllable pitch propeller using Servogear, and will achieve anticipated sprint speeds of up to 32 knots.
Press release, February 5, 2014; Image: Alicat