South Boats Special Projects Ltd. and Seacat Services Ltd. announce that the two companies have signed a contract for the construction of four further vessels, 2 x South Catamaran 24m WFSV to be named ‘Seacat Resolute’ and ‘Seacat Vigilant’ and two further vessels, which have been allocated build slots with the sizes of these vessels to be dictated by clients and industry demand.
The ‘Seacat Resolute’ and the ‘Seacat Vigilant’ are both variants of the new 24m design that will be used for servicing offshore wind farms in the European sector. Both aluminium craft will start production within the next 8 weeks and will be delivered in August and September 2012. The third and fourth vessels are scheduled for delivery during Q1, 2013. These vessels will join the South Catamaran 19m vessels ‘Seacat Endeavour’ and ‘Seacat Reliance’ that will enter service in May and June 2012 respectively.
The high specification vessels will both be built to DNV 1A1 HSLC R2 Wind Farm Service 1 and UK flag and will feature a soft mounted superstructure and new modular internal arrangement so that the entire configuration of the saloon can be adapted between projects and between the requirements of construction and O&M. Both vessels are capable of carrying 3 x 10ft containers and large cargo payloads. Both are fitted with extensive specifications and are both powered by twin MTU 12V2000M72 marine engines and Rolls Royce 56A3 water jets for speeds in excess of 28 knots.
Ben Colman of South Boats is quoted as saying “We are delighted to extend our relationship with Seacat Services and Ian and Nia Baylis, who have shown great commitment to South Boats and the offshore wind farm sector over the last few months. We are now building six vessels for Seacat Services, worth over £14m, ordered to meet the requirements of current tenders”.
Ian Baylis of Seacat Services is quoted as saying “In response to specific enquiries and to meet further industry demands we are extremely pleased to be able to announce the expansion of our fleet. The 24m compliments our 19m vessels perfectly and will provide flexibility and versatility whilst ensuring exceptional safety and reliability. South Boats’ new facility is impressive and we are confident they can deliver our boats on time to a very high standard”.
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Source: SouthBoatsGroup, October 20, 2011.