A&R Marketing & Sales Manager Verena Hansen told MJ : 'We are very optimistic about the marketing potential of this development. There have already been a number of enquiries from interested parties, ' she said.

The partners said the combination of shipbuilding and offshore know-how would guarantee very high availability for wind power plants and could reduce service and transport as well as provide year-round repair and minimum down-time.

The design of the new ship is based on the pilot station mother vessel Elbe . That revolutionary, 49.9 m long SWATH ship has been in operation in the German Bight since 1999 and services two pilot transfer ships. All three vessels were built at A&R. The SWATH concept - boasting twin hulls and a very small waterplane area to minimise ship motion, means ships can sail even in heavy weather.

The new maintenance ship can be build modular with living and sleeping rooms for about 40 people and will have loading areas for big and heavy spare parts like rotorblades or generators. One advantage will be flexibility in adverse weather and operational conditions, while another is the savings made on fixed supply platforms.

Defining the project, A&R and T&S said: 'We are going to develop a safe, reliable and 'bad weather' vessel which will be both suitable and an exceptional economic solution.'

MJ Information No: 18808