Seacat orders second Chartwell 24 offshore wind support vessel

zchartwell 24

U.K. offshore energy support vessel (OESV) operator, Seacat Services, has taken up its option to build a second Chartwell 24 catamaran for the offshore wind sector. Construction of the vessel, to be called Seacat Rainbow, will start construction immediately at Isle of Wight shipyard Diverse Marine, where sister Chartwell 24 vessel Seacat Weatherly, which is currently in build and due to be completed in April 2020.

With the next generation of OESVs now progressing from the drawing board into build, vessel operators are making decisions that will determine the future make-up of offshore wind service fleets in Europe, the U.S. and Asia. Seacat Services’ second order of the Chartwell 24 demonstrates its confidence that the Chartwell Marine design is best-placed to meet the logistical demands of offshore wind project construction and operation.

Andy Page, Managing Director, Chartwell Marine, said, “The offshore wind sector is at a pivotal point, where lessons learnt from development and operation to date must quickly be applied to achieve true global scale. Seacat Services continues to demonstrate that it is not willing to compromise on the attributes that make a safe, reliable and efficient offshore energy support vessel.”

Ian Baylis, Managing Director of Seacat Services, added, “Chartwell Marine’s pioneering approach, backed up by strong technical R&D expertise and extensive dialogue with operators and wind farm stakeholders, gives us enormous confidence in the design. The investment case for this second vessel was clear cut, and we look forward to bringing both Rainbow and Weatherly into the fleet to show how this translates into the highest levels of performance and service for our customers.”