The 19m vessel will be on in a long line of Windcats that have worked or are working on Greater Gabbard. Currently, the company has six vessels working on the 540MW site supporting offshore maintenance work.
“I am delighted that we continue to work with Windcat; we have developed a good relationship over the years,” said Steve Rose head of offshore wind generation, SSE.
The presentation of the vessel took place at Windcats’ new marine engineering facility in Lowestoft, UK.
“We believe that offering our clients reliability is essential. Being able to have a dedicated engineering base will help ensure that we meet this goal,” added Neil Clarkson, managing director, Windcat Workboats.
“We have a great deal of confidence that Lowestoft will support our business growth. The town is close to the main European market which, with the development of East Anglia 1 offshore windfarm, will continue to expand,” he concluded.
The development of the engineering base was made possible with the support of ABP Ports. The new 1,377m² site will enable Windcat to service its entire fleet at Lowestoft. ‘Windcat 39’ is already under construction.
In time, Windcats hopes to operate a full marine engineering training centre. The company is currently recruiting marine engineers and apprentices.
Windcat Workboats owns and operates a growing fleet of over 38 offshore crew transfer vessels, mainly in the European offshore wind sector, as well as the oil and gas industry, and outside Europe.
By Rachael Doyle
