UK-based marine service provider Marine and Towage Services Group Ltd. (MTS) has completed the charter to deliver the Sea Slice, a specialist offshore vessel, to its new Danish owners, Advanced Offshore Solutions.
The 1996-built Sea Slice, originally designed as an experimental vessel for the US Navy, was sold last year to Advanced Offshore Solutions for deployment in the European offshore wind sector.
Having been shipped to Europe from the USA earlier this year, the Sea Slice was towed from Rotterdam in the Netherlands to Esbjerg in Denmark by MTS Indus – a Dutch-built 25-metre multi-purpose tug – over a two-and-a-half day period in early October. The entire logistical set-up was organized by GRS Global Renewables Shipbrokers.
“European offshore wind continues to be a competitive market place, with a huge potential for innovation,” said Jon Parslow, Managing Director, MTS Group Ltd.
“Delivering the Sea Slice in time for the next phase of European wind development, is another example of how we’re continuing to support this maturing industry.”
Once deployed to a European offshore wind farm, the Sea Slice will be used for a variety of tasks including dive operations, surveying and crew and equipment transfer.
Kurt Thomsen, Managing Director, Advanced Offshore Solutions, said: “We’ve been pioneering different technologies for the offshore wind industry for almost two decades, and the Sea Slice is the latest example of this type of investment. We look forward to deploying the vessel’s impressive capability to the offshore wind market soon.”