TWO Shetland companies are investing £10million in new vessels to support a forecasted increase in offshore renewables contracts.
The Research Fishing Company has ordered a triple-screw 33-tonne bollard pull tug/workboat, a Damen 2611 the Whalsa Lass, which was launched last month.
Delta Marine’s new-build, a Damen 2613 called the Voe Earl, will be launched next month. It will have a 50t bollard pull and DP (dynamic positioning) system.
Both are to Delta’s design specifications in conjunction with Damen Shipyards in Holland.
They feature 100-tonne winches and will be managed and operated by Delta Marine alongside its existing fleet, which has been working with the marine renewables sector since 2003.
Installation of tide and wave machines including the associated mooring/cable works at various Orkney European Marine Energy Centre sites, also anchor handling on many of the Round 2 offshore windfarms are some of the contracts recently undertaken. Delta Marine, based in Lerwick with three further offices on mainland Scotland, was formed in 1985, working mainly for the dredging industry, which required strong, powerful and shallow draft vessels.
Over the years, the size and power has increased in line with the dredging company’s requirements as both dredgers and pipelines became larger. They now require powerful deck cranes as standard.
Voe Earl is a continuation of this growing process, with powerful main engines and big thrusters to enable heavy anchor handling to be carried out in strong tides.
The company employs 35 people but this is due to increase in the next few months as new vessels near completion. These are built to class requirements, inspected by a client’s preferred warranty surveyor and manned by experienced UK crews, said Delta Marine.
It said these new breed workboats are in demand and proving popular with the offshore renewable industry.
They have already been working in areas from the Caspian to the Baltic on marine construction projects including pipe laying, fibre optic cable laying, bridge construction, and submerged tube tunnel installation.
Delta’s Voe Jarl is currently chartered in Australia working on a turnkey dredging tract for an ore terminal.
New demands from the marine renewable industry are proving the vessels suitability for the diversity of applications requiring powerful, yet compact, vessels, which are able to carry out multiple tasks including anchor handling, towing, bunkering, dive support etc, safely and at a realistic cost.