Gladding Hearn offers wind farm service vessel for U.S. market

Incat Crowther licensee Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation, has announced the availability of a new work boat for developers and service providers of offshore wind farms in the United States.

Incat Crowther’s first Catamaran Wind Farm Service Vessel, built by Lyme Boats in Exeter, England, is now in service in the North Sea for P&O Maritime Services.

The all-aluminum catamaran measures 17 meters overall.  Powered by twin diesel engines, each delivering 750hp, the vessel’s loaded top speed is about 27 knots.  The design has been developed to provide a higher level of comfort and safety than the typical wind farm service vessels in service today.

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“With about a dozen wind farms being planned along the East Coast and Great Lakes of the United States, we are now in a position to meet the service vessel needs of the construction crews and the technicians who will be working on these projects,” explained Gladding-Hearn President Peter Duclos.  “As a licensee of Incat Crowther since the mid-80s we’ve built more than 35 high-speed passenger catamarans from their designs. We know these hull forms provide a very safe, stable and comfortable platform for offshore wind farm service vessels.”  

Somewhat longer than the P&O Maritime Services vessel, the 18 meter vessel planned for operation in the United States is specifically designed to meet the applicable U.S.C.G. requirements and interface with the wind farm pylons, allowing transfer of technicians and cargo from the bow, stern, or alongside.

The main deck has twin cargo areas, one aft and one on the foredeck.  The aft cargo area has space for a 10-foot container and capacity of 10 tonnes.  The foredeck cargo area has capacity of four tonnes.  To enhance the vessel’s functional flexibility, it can accommodate a variety of crane types and locations, a moon pool, and a range of propulsion options, including waterjets or CP or fixed-pitch propellers. 

The main cabin, located mid-ship, can accommodate a large galley and settee, head and shower, a wet locker, and seating for 12 passengers.  For overnight accommodations, there is ample space for crew quarters below the main deck.  On the upper deck, the wheelhouse’s forward-leaning and overhead windows provide an unobstructed view of the forward and aft decks and technicians heading up the pylon ladder.

Service vessels of 22 and 26 meters are also being planned. 

June 8, 2011