UK: South Boats Delivers New Workboat to Iceni Marine Services

South Boats Special Projects Ltd. announced the launch and commissioning of its 54th offshore wind farm crew transfer vessel, ‘Iceni Pride’.

The vessel is a South Catamaran 13m Rapid Response Vessel (RRV) built to fulfil a 5 year contract Iceni Marine Services has in place with Scottish & Southern Energy on their Greater Gabbard Offshore Wind Farm project. This vessel is the fourth built for Iceni with a further three in build and on order.

The ‘Iceni Pride’ has an LOA of 14.2m, Beam of 5.3m, Draught of 0.8m and a lightship displacement of 14 tons.

The 13m RRV was originally designed to cover a number of support roles through the construction and operation & maintenance phases and is amongst the most fuel efficient and flexible vessels available to the industry.

Powered by twin Caterpillar C9 ACERT 510mhp diesel engines coupled to Hamilton HJ364 water jet units the vessel achieved a sprint speed of 30 knots and is capable of cruising at speeds in excess of 25 knots with 12 passengers and full fuel in departure condition. The vessel is fitted with Hamilton’s Blue Arrow control system.

The vessel has been outfitted to a very high standard with an abundance of teak and leather to take into account that one of the roles is VIP transportation. Six Beurteaux Ocean Club leather seats either side of the central companionwa are fitted with a dedicated lifejacket stowage, table and document pouch. The vessel is fitted with satellite TV, DVD, wireless 3G internet and satellite communications. A modular kit bag storage area aft can quickly be turned into a survey station when the need arises. The helm is fitted across the front of the wheelhouse with an extensive array Furuno electronic navigation aids including, main radar, secondary radar, chart plotter, secondary chart plotter, recording CCTV system, class A AIS, satellite compass, navtex, gps and two DSC VHF radios. The bridge has heated forward screens to eliminate misting.

The vessel is fitted with comfortable forward accommodation for three crew with a separate shower-room. All windows in the vessel are fully double glazed to eliminate condensation and to provide the technicians with clear visibility out of the vessel. Free standing air intake and air extraction systems for the machinery spaces and high tech anti noise and vibration matting minimise noise and vibration to the passenger saloon areas. In addition the saloon and wheelhouse areas are fitted with a circulating water system with stainless steel radiators and a booster fan matrix system to maintain a very comfortable environment through the winter months.

South Boats continues to build 25 wind farm crew transfer vessels per annum and the new generation 13m, 16m, 17m, 19m, 24m and 28m designs are now populating the range. All of the new generation vessels feature modular superstructures, integrated systems, options for secondary access systems and new bow fender system. With 5 years experience building 54 wind farm vessels for 15 operators and having worked on over 25 projects, there is no doubt that South Boats catamarans remain the vessel of industry choice.

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Source: South Boats, April 18, 2012