Goodchild Marine to Build New Pilot Boat for Portland Port

UK boat builder Goodchild Marine Services Limited said it is to build a new pilot boat for Portland Harbour Authority in Dorset. The Great Yarmouth based company will construct an ORC 121 for Portland Port; part of broader investment the port is making to enable larger cruise ships and Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships to berth alongside. Scheduled to enter service in 2025, the vessel will be the third pilot boat of its class in the Southwest, built and supplied by Goodchild Marine in recent years.

Features of this class of vessel include a beak bow hull design with minimal drag, which allows it to reach speeds of up to 26 knots, the builder said, adding that the higher transit speeds, even in challenging conditions, will allow the craft to increase the overall efficiency of the pilot services for the port, as well as promote fuel savings and carbon reductions via the latest generation of engines. The vessel will also be equipped with a Man Overboard Platform as standard.

Steve Pierce, General Manager for Goodchild Marine said, “We continue to focus our designs on the needs of UK ports as their requirements change, considering that ships visiting UK ports are getting ever bigger, along with changes to environmental legislation”.

Capt Mike Shipley, General Manager (Marine) for the Portland Port Group said, “This new pilot boat is part of a wider investment in the port to enable us to react to the changes in the size and types of ships visiting our port. Having researched the ORC Range of pilot boats, including visiting ports that operate them, it gave us the confidence that our pilotage services will be enhanced which is good for the port and the visiting ships.”