James Fisher and Sons’ £25m contract for Galloper offshore wind farm will create about 110 new jobs, mostly in the Lowestoft area, at a construction support base for the £1.5bn project, and everyone recruited so far lives within 20 miles of Lowestoft, James Fisher and Sons’ business development director, Martin Dronfield, said.
Supply chain companies in Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth that can provide specialist services which the marine service company will need during its 2,5-year contract are invited to get in touch with the company, East of England Energy Group (EEEGR) said.
“There is a lot of trust and belief being invested in the skills in the area. There is a great deal more than money going on in the emergence of the renewable sector down the east energy coast,” Dronfield told an EEEGR event focused on the Southern North Sea.
James Fisher was currently preparing offices for 120 people in Lowestoft, which will be the base for Galloper’s construction and where James Fisher’s Offshore Wind Management System (OWMS) will be used.
The company will prepare all transit facilities for the offshore wind farm and will be creating welfare facilities, changing rooms and drying rooms at its base. It will prepare the crew transfer and supply and manage multi-support vessels to and from the offshore site. Its multi-purpose wind farm support vessel, Dart Fisher, is currently being fitted out for diving and other specialist services.
“Lowestoft will be where the construction of Galloper is managed. It is not the construction base,” Dronfield told supply chain companies at EEEGR’s event.
The new jobs are created across three teams, including a team in OrbisEnergy, Lowestoft, and technicians offshore.
Toby Edmonds , project director of Galloper, said: “The great thing about Lowestoft port is that it is ready to go as a base.
“We don’t have to make huge investment at the port for it to be ready.
“We are making modest investment there. The more projects that get built off shore, the less infrastructure will be needed at the ports for each project.”