Technicians And Equipment News

Norwegian offshore vessel owner Golden Energy Offshore Services AS (GEOS) has secured bring to work (B2W) contract for its offshore vessel  Energy Duchess and a medium-term contract in direct continuation.The 83.4-meter vessel of Ulstein PX121 design will be mobilized with a Z-Bridge Bring to Work system (B2W), and its role will be to accommodate and bring technicians and equipment to offshore work locations. Several of the vessel's MPSV capacities and capabilities will be utilized throughout, GEOS said.According to GEOS, the job is up to 14 days in duration, and mobilization in Rotterdam will start next week after the completion of its current spot job. GEOS website info shows the vessel is currently working for EnQuest Heather Ltd. on a contract set to expire on March 20.

James Fisher and Sons plc and Uptime International have signed a memorandum of understanding to partner for the use of motion compensated gangways in the development of the pioneering Ulstein SX221 Diamond SOV. The duo said that the agreement would ensure the safety and efficiency of offshore personnel through autonomous and intelligent operations.The news is related to the Diamond Consortium’s ULSTEIN SX221 Diamond SOV concept, announced in June 2022. With James Fisher representing the Diamond Consortium…

UK-based offshore vessel operator North Star has awarded a £2 million contract to Great Yarmouth firm Alicat Workboats to build two new Chartwell designed daughter craft.The vessels will be added to North Star's new renewables fleet which is bound for the Dogger Bank offshore wind farm, located off the North East coast of England, from next year.Last September, Alicat Workboats won a contract to build an initial two daughter crafts for the offshore wind service vessel operator. The vessels have a hybrid powered design, developed by Chartwell Marine, in collaboration with North Star.

U-Ming Marine Offshore Company Limited (UMO) has acquired two secondhand crew transfer vessels (CTVs) and completed their reflagging.The company, a joint venture between U-Ming Marine Transport Corporation and World Marine Offshore A/S, said the vessels, “UMO Mistral” and “UMO Scirocco” were trimaran SWATH vessels ideal for the harsh environment in Taiwan. "The hull form of the trimaran gives crew and passengers optimal sea comfort and less fatigue, and reduced slamming. The design shows a 40% improvement of uptime compared to best catamarans available on the market.

Norwegian offshore vessel firm Island Offshore said Tuesday it had won a vessel contract at the Moray East offshore wind farm in the UK.With its Island Crown vessel, Island Offshore is providing the wind farm operator MOWEL with Walk-to-Work services.The Island Crown has already started the project for Moray East, operating out of Peterhead, north-east in Scotland.The vessel is used to accommodate and transfer technicians and equipment for work on the windfarm’s three offshore substation platforms."These operations are scheduled to last until the last part of June 2021, with potential extensions into July 2021," Island Offshore said in a social media post.Built in 2013, 96.8 meters long Island Crown can accommodate 100 crew members aboard.

Finland-based propulsion specialist Steerprop has recently won a contract to deliver azimuth units as the main propulsion and steering system for a shallow-draught ice-breaking vessel being built for offshore oil operations in the Russian Far East.The 75.9 meters long, 14 meters wide vessel is being built by the Dutch shipyard Royal Niestern Sander for the Russian companies Mercury Sakhalin and Pola.The walk-to-work vessel will operate all year round in harsh ice conditions, transferring service technicians and equipment to and from offshore platforms off the Sakhalin Island.

Dutch shipbuilder Royal Niestern Sander has ordered Schottel thrusters for what has been described as the world's first shallow-draught ice-breaking walk-to-work vessel, targeted for operation at the Russian Far East.Under the order from a joint venture between the Russian companies Mercury Sakhalin and Pola, Royal Niestern Sander is constructing the 75.9-meter-long, 14-meter-wide vessel that will serve the offshore oil and gas installations near the Sakhalin Island, Russia.After ordering an ice-strengthened gangway for the vessel form Ampelmann in June…

Incat Crowther has won the contract for a pair of hybrid catamaran crew transfer vessels, designed together with Danish offshore crew transfer company MHO-Co. Once delivered, the vessels will service an Ørsted wind farm in the North Sea.The Incat Crowther 35s will use modern electric motors to save on weight, space, and emissions for the benefit of the environment as well as fuel economy in the offshore wind industry, Incat Crowther said.The vessels will use a combination of direct drive and electric propulsion for maximum flexibility and significant redundancy, the company said.

Marine Travelift has announced it is expanding its operation with the addition of Marine Travelift Mid-Atlantic. Marine Travelift Mid-Atlantic is located in Ashland, Virginia, and now offers boat handling equipment support from New Jersey to South Carolina.“The goal of this expansion is to provide our customers in the Mid-Atlantic area with the best possible access to Marine Travelift equipment locally. This includes genuine OEM parts and high-quality service with factory support,” said Erich Pfeifer, Marine Travelift President & CEO.Craig Lewis, Sales Manager at Marine Travelift Mid-Atlantic, has 16 years’ experience with Marine Travelift machines and will lead the company’s sales team.Kim Edds…

Seacat Services, and Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (Siemens Gamesa), have signed a two-year charter deal to support early Operations & Maintenance (O&M) activity at the 336MW Galloper Wind Farm. Seacat Services is an offshore energy support vessel (OESV) operator and Siemens Gamesa is a global offshore wind manufacturer and service provider. Having secured the 56-turbine supply deal for the multi-million pound project, currently under construction by innogy SE, Siemens Gamesa is now supporting the wind farm as it moves into the operational phase…

The German navigation system manufacturer Raytheon Anschütz, together with its exclusive Norwegian distributor Syberg AS, has been awarded another contract for the supply of the Synapsis Integrated Navigation System (INS) to a new state-of-the-art windfarm service vessel. Havyard Design & Solutions has developed the new windfarm service vessel design Havyard 831 SOV in close cooperation with Danish shipowner ESVAGT. The vessel is compact and efficient, but with ample capacity to provide onboard service and transport technicians and equipment.

Offshore energy presents a golden opportunity for Alaska and the United States. As we enter the final quarter of the year, one of the last and most pressing pieces of business facing the Interior Department is to finalize its next offshore leasing program, which will specify exactly which parts of the United States’ Outer Continental Shelf will be open to oil and gas development between 2017 and 2022. Having already cut the Atlantic from its proposed program back in March, the…

Seacat Freedom, the latest addition to Seacat Services’ 12-strong fleet, has been dispatched to DONG Energy’s Race Bank offshore wind project following the boat’s official naming ceremony at Seawork 2016. The deployment comes as part of the two year, 4-workboat crew transfer deal secured by Seacat Services in April to support DONG Energy’s operation off the UK’s East coast. Construction at Race Bank will require the highest possible levels of reliability and work boat availability in order to fully commission all 91 turbines by 2018.

The first of two service operation vessels (SOV) ordered in 2015 by Bernhard Schulte Offshore (BS Offshore) and its client Siemens from Ulstein Verft in is now completed, and was delivered on June 23, 2016. The vessel is built to the ULSTEIN SX175 design, which according to Ulstein, emphasizes optimization of the vessel’s movements in order to ensure the safe transfer of technicians and equipment for the maintenance and servicing of wind turbines. “We considered several yards worldwide…

CWind, a provider of integrated services to the wind industry, announced it has won a three-year contract to supply crew transfer services during the operations and maintenance (O&M) phase at Gunfleet Sands offshore wind farm (OWF) off the coast of Essex. The CWind Challenger will be transferring technicians and equipment to the wind farm for the next three years. Gunfleet Sands OWF has the option to extend this contract for up to two years. CWind Challenger will be operating from Brightlingsea in Essex, which incidentally is where the vessel was built and launched in 2013.

Greene’s Energy Group, LLC (GEG), a provider of integrated testing, rentals and specialty services has promoted Antwan McMillian to manager, testing and services. McMillian is responsible for the testing and services for blowout preventers (BOP) throughout 20 Houston-area counties. He will also manage the technicians and equipment within his geographic area. As an employee of GEG since 2007, McMillian has held positions such as a helper T1, T3 operator and sales representative for district 3.

The first high speed VEKA Catamaran for the Offshore Wind Farm industry has been delivered to Royal Wagenborg. The new catamaran will supply remote wind farms in the North Sea with crew, equipment and supplies. Later this week VEKA say they will launch a second catamaran for its shakedown cruise, and it will not be long before this one will also be heading out for the same kind of work. Last year, VEKA engaged in a collaboration with BMT Nigel Gee, for the development of a series of powerful catamarans…

Marlink officially announced that it is establishing a new business entity in Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Marlink FZ LLC. The new business will be located in Dubai's Internet City and the company has plans to expand operations and increase technical and sales support in order to serve its growing roster of shipping companies and maritime customers operating throughout the region. Marlink is now strategically positioned to rapidly attend to the communications requirements of its maritime customers operating in the Middle East, reducing equipment installation and configuration downtime and ensuring shipboard satellite communications are ready to go when the vessel is scheduled to embark.