Kitty Petra sets sail
‘Kitty Petra’, Tidal Transits fourth Personnel Transport Vessel [PTV], has set sail from the Spanish port of Alicante to make her debut in Southampton (UK) on Berth V34 at Seawork International 2014.
She will be formally handed over to Tidal Transit by Mercurio Plastics Shipyard where she was built, at 3:30 pm on 10th June 2014. To mark the occasion, a reception will be held on board at 4:00 pm on 10th June, when Tidal Transit is teaming up with Mantsbrite, (the company that has supplied and fitted all the highly technical electrical equipment on the bridges of Tidal Transit’s PTVs), which is celebrating its 50th Anniversary.
The charter demand for the latest generation of offshore wind farm PTVs from Tidal Transit enabled the company to commission the construction of this fourth vessel, which has been built to the same specification as her three sister vessels, Ginny Louise, Tia Elizabeth and Eden Rose.
Confirming the departure of this latest vessel for the UK, Leo Hambro said: “Kitty Petra will join her sister vessels in the service of the global offshore wind energy sector, where transporting technicians to the wind farms for construction and operation and maintenance work will create a high demand for safe, reliable vessels for many years to come.”
Tidal Transit has an option with Mercurio Shipyard for a further six vessels, and plans for further vessel build contracts are now well in hand. According to Tidal Transit the specification of these vessels greatly exceeds the current fleet being used for the same purpose in the UK. The vessels MCA Cat 1 coding and 10,000 litre fuel tanks allow them to work up to 150 miles offshore, well within the range of the UK’s forthcoming Round 3 offshore wind farms. Each vessel provides four crew members and twelve passengers with comfortable berths, bathrooms, galley, internet access and entertainment facilities, allowing wind farm engineers and support technicians to live and work offshore for up to several days at a time.
Twin V12 MAN engines enable speeds of up to 27 knots when carrying twelve passengers, the crew, and their on-board cargo. Massive cargo decks fore and aft can accommodate up to 10,000kg of tools, equipment and spares, and the Guerra crane on the fore deck has a lifting capacity of 1,025kg at 6.9m, which caters for long reach loading and unloading. Cranes can also be deployed for camera surveys and grab sampling.
By Jake Frith
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