Meercat hits the road to Norway again
The success of the workboat OPD Enterprise has led to the order for the first wide bodied RT15.
Portsmouth UK based steel workboat builder Meercat Workboats Ltd has signed a contract to supply a new Meercat RT15 to Norwegian contractors, ØPD Solutions AS.
ØPD Solutions AS provides subsea contractual services, including pipe and cable-laying operations across Norway and Europe. ØPD already owns a 15m road transportable Meercat Workboat and it is due to the success of this vessel that the subsequent order has been secured. The versatility of the original vessel, ØPD Enterprise, enabled ØPD to supply a comprehensive marine infrastructure service to its customers, which the new vessel can only enhance and broaden.
The new Meercat Workboat will be the first wide bodied RT15. The vessel will have two hulls of four metres width but will still remain road transportable. This is imperative to the vessel’s future role as envisaged by ØPD.
Increasing the beam to eight metres provides a very generous working platform, significantly improves cargo capacity and, with the resultant increased stability, will enable the fitting of a Palfinger 40 t/m crane. This crane is the largest to ever be fitted to a Meercat and the particular model selected will have an incredible 20m outreach. Also incorporated will be capstans, an upgraded generator and a pipe handling platform forward. It will also be the first Meercat Workboat to be fitted with Volvo D7 engines, developing 266hp each at 2,300 rpm and, as with its predecessor, will also have a hydraulic bow thruster.
Nils-Johan Tufte, CEO of ØPD Solutions said, “We are delighted to be purchasing another Meercat Workboat. The versatility of these vessels speaks for itself and we have found that there is no limit to the capabilities of a Meercat, as they display superb manoeuvrability and operate within less than a metre of water under full load. All this and still being capable of working up to 20 miles offshore.”
Meercat Workboats has also recently entered the wind farming and fish farm markets, selling customised vessels to the Port of Mostyn and The Scottish Salmon Company.
Images for this article - click to enlarge
Unless otherwise stated, all images copyright © Mercator Media 2012. This does not exclude the owner's assertion of copyright over the material.
