Patriot Leader: First Gladding-Hearn built CTV

Written by Marine Log Staff
Patriot Leader

Photo: Gladding-Hearn

Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation, Somerset, Mass., has delivered its first crew transfer vessel (CTV), the Patriot Leader, to Patriot Offshore Maritime Services. The vessel will operate year-round, transportation service for 24 offshore workers and equipment to support the construction and O&M phases of offshore wind projects on the U.S. East Coast

Designed by Incat Crowther, the all-aluminum high-speed catamaran is certified to USCG Subchapter-L and Lloyds Register Special Service Craft Rules. It has an overall length of 88.5 ft., beam of 29.5 ft. and draft of 5.6 ft. The vessel is powered by four Scania DI16, 8-cylinder, 4 cycle, EPA Tier-3 compliant diesel engines, each rated at 788 bhp (588 bkW) at 2,100 rpm. Each main engine drives a Hamiltonjet HM521 waterjet through a ZF-665 reverse-reduction gearbox. Humphree interceptors, with automatic trim optimization, are installed at the transom. Top speed is 29 knots.

Electricity is produced by a 55 kW Kohler EPA Tier 3 compliant genset in each of the two engine rooms.

The Patriot Leader carries 6,800 gallons of cargo fuel, along with fuel pumps and a hose reel, to supply the wind turbines’ auxiliary generator.

The resiliently-mounted superstructure is located aft of midship with port and starboard side decks and working/cargo decks fore and aft. The large foredeck is set up to carry two 20 ft. ISO containers and to transfer the offshore workers over the bow. To facilitate wind-turbine landings, the bow is outfitted with a resiliently-mounted RG Seasight fendering system. On the bow is a 14.3 t-m, hydraulic knuckle boom crane with an 8.1-meter reach.

Each of Patriot Leader‘s hulls is divided into four watertight compartments, which include two crew staterooms and a lounge. The main deck, accessible by an aft and two side doors, includes seating for the offshore workers, a galley, wet locker, two heads and showers, and storage racks.

The upper deck includes a wheelhouse and two double staterooms. The wheelhouse, with windows on all sides for nearly 360-degree visibility, is located on the second deck and accessible by interior stairs and an aft exterior ladder. It includes three shock-mitigating helm seats. The control console across the front includes centerline engine and waterjet controls and navigation and communication electronics. A 144,000 Btu air cooled air-conditioning/reverse cycle heat system services the main salon, upper state rooms, crew quarters and the wheelhouse.

The vessel is equipped with a Reygar BareFleet vessel monitoring system to continuously log performance data from various systems, including the engines, waterjets control system, accelerations at the bow, generators, fuel tank levels and NMEA navigational/weather information, and video during turbine transfer operations.

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