UK: CTruk Boats to Build Two Vessels for Offshore Turbine Services

CTruk Boats has signed a deal to build two 20-tonne payload MPCs for a new company, Offshore Turbine Services. Both vessels will be delivered in the spring of 2012.

Offshore Turbine Services will be taking advantage of CTruk Boats’ flexible pod system (patent applied), which was designed specifically to meet the varied needs of wind farm support work. The new vessels will have passenger, fuel and rescue pods.

 Phil Collins, Founder of Offshore Turbine Services explained, “Our vessels will be ferrying crew and fuel out to the wind turbines offshore, so we decided on CTruk Boats’ MPCs because of their flexibility, but also the fuel economies produced by the light-weight technology used in their construction”.

 Ben Simpson, Managing Director of CTruk Boats commented “Our mantra is safer, better, faster, more cost-effective; so although we’re always looking at new ways to improve our vessels, we keep the safety aspect of offshore work at the forefront of the design. Our flexible pod system enables operators to change the vessel’s layout within a few hours and respond to the varying demands of wind farm support work. By moving the wheelhouse from the front to the back for example, operators can easily adapt the vessel to ferry personnel or carry out fuel or generators”.

Focussing on safety means the team found ways to make the traditionally heavy doors on work vessels, lighter by using a resin infusion technique. The company’s choice of Rolls Royce water jets over propellers means that its MPCs are more effective in shallow drafts, but also reduces problems with debris in the water which can often result in a day a month out of action. In addition, the jets’ Vector Stick controls are designed to be intuitive, making it easy for the skipper to use automatically, even when being bombarded with other information whilst docking at the turbine.

The composites which make up the work vessels’ hull are designed to make for a smoother, more hydrodynamic shape, whilst being light and very tough. It’s the same material the RNLI uses for its fast lifeboats. This means the vessel uses less fuel than aluminium alternatives.

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World Maritime News Staff, March 5, 2012; Image: CTruk