Darley H2NA team broadens its offering

As Hare admitted, that’s somewhat unusual given his own 30-year experience “but previously we’ve been focused on medium to large vessels that require Class and Flag approval… while Ian knows a vast amount about workboat designs that often require delegated authority approval”.

The H2NA team, which is led by Hare and colleague Phil Henderson, sprang from a conversation between the two while Hare was head of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Naval Architecture department. After years of working together on a number of defence projects “we decided we could do it better than some of our existing contractors”, he explained. So in 2014 they set out on their own, landing notable roles such as the complete ship stability analysis and documentation updates for the recently completed £49.5m refit of RFA Fort Victoria at the Cammell Laird yard.

Ian Darley, on the other hand, is a veteran of the hard working sub-30m commercial designs such as the 9.5m Vera Lockhart harbour tug built 1974 for David Ferran in Belfast – and still in operation. Recent builds include a 12m catamaran mooring vessel for Falmouth Harbour Commissioners and a 15m multi-purpose work vessel for Ebbsfleet Marine. Currently underway, he said, is a 360 capacity passenger vessel for London Party Boats and an oil pollution vessel for East Africa. So, it’s what you might call a very diverse portfolio.

The Darley H2NA collaboration, launched officially at Seawork last year, has already seen a range of interesting jobs: for example the installation of a new footbridge across the Thames in Taplow for Land & Water Group. As Hare explained, modelling the loading conditions of the floating pontoon meant contractors were sure of the parameters for lifting the footbridge, manoeuvring the loaded pontoon down the Thames and finally placing the bridge in position.

Collaboration has also allowed them to take on smaller, specialised craft designs such as a recent 14m, 57-passenger ferry. “It’s interesting,” said Hare, “Phil and I are senior Chartered Engineers with a considerable amount of experience in our own field. However, despite the shared science and engineering requirements, there are notable differences between large ships and small boats. That’s why having access to a larger, more experienced team with significant history within each field is such a powerful partnership – it can only benefit our customers.”

Visit Darley H2NA at Seawork International 2018 on stand number SR10.

By Stevie Knight