Alicat & South Boats IOW sign £5.5m contract
Seawork 2014 exhibitors, Alicat and South Boats IOW, have received a £5.5 million, two-workboat order from Lowestoft-based operator Iceni Marine Services.
The Iceni Vengeance and her sister vessel Iceni Venture will expand the Iceni fleet of South Catamarans to six, demonstrating the strength of the ongoing relationship with Alicat & South Boats IOW. Both vessels will be delivered in March 2015.
The all-new 22m South Catamaran design, which benefits from an extensive research and development programme, was developed in collaboration with Iceni to ensure that the technical requirements of the operator were met.
The two vessels, which will each carry 12 technicians alongside three crewmembers to and from wind farm developments in UK and wider European waters, will be almost identical, but will make use of different propulsion systems.
Vengeance, to be built at the Alicat yard in Great Yarmouth, will use Hamilton water jet propulsion, with sprint speeds of up to 30 knots. Her Cowes-built sister vessel, Venture, is South Boats’ first to employ a controllable pitch propeller using Servogear and will achieve anticipated sprint speeds of up to 32 knots.
The latest in a string of contracts signed by Alicat and South Boats IOW with UK vessel operators, the deal is an illustration of the continuing success of UK firms in the offshore wind industry, despite emerging competition from overseas. Client relationships and a commitment to technical excellence serve to maintain the industry-leading position of British boatbuilders and operators as the sector grows.
Furthermore, with Lowestoft having been selected as the base for operations and maintenance for the planned 340MW Galloper wind farm off the East Coast, the deal also serves to illustrate the significance of establishing strong regional hubs to support industry growth.
“Commitment to custom technical innovation and the highest possible build-quality is what will continue to differentiate British boat builders from competitors across Europe and further afield in the developing Asian market,’’ said Ben Colman, Sales and Marketing Manager at Alicat & South Boats IOW.
Iceni Director, Guy Gibson, comments: “Building a fleet of South Catamarans has not only allowed us a high degree of input into the design of the vessels, but should also serve to enhance our reputation as an operator of state of the art WFSVs.”
Visit Alicat on stand B159/V28 and South Boats on stand V27 at Mercator Media Ltd’s Seawork Exhibition, which is taking place at ABP’s Port of Southampton from 10 to 12 June 2014.
