First 14m Meercat ready for wind farm support role

The 14m vessel, the first of the company’s new RT14 design, was ordered in a high profile signing at Seawork 2010 and will start work servicing wind farm workboats operating out to the Sheringham Shoal wind farm, as well as attending to general port duties in and around the port of Wells-next-the-Sea in Norfolk.

Frank-T is the second vessel to be completed following Meercat Workboats’ move to much larger waterside facilities at Trafalgar Wharf. The build is also the first to benefit from the company’s newly installed 14m by 4m CNC plasma table, which is coupled to Meercat Workboats’ in-house design facility. This state of the art equipment is already contributing to significantly shorter lead times across the Meercat range and enabling the company to further build on its reputation for quality and accuracy.

Frank-T measures 14.5m in length overall with a beam of 4.85m, moulded depth of 1.5m and a lightship displacement of 28 tons. In contrast to earlier Meercats, this vessel is a single hulled unit, although bearing many similarities to the popular twin hulled Meercat RT16. The modest beam still means that transport from Portsmouth to Wells Harbour will be via public roads when the vessel is delivered to its new owners in January 2011.

Given the challenge of building a heavy duty workboat capable of carrying up to 10 tons of cargo on deck whilst maintaining a draft of just 750mm in the shallow tidal environment of Wells Harbour, Frank-T has a number of special features. Firstly, in the interests of reducing weight, this is the first Meercat to be fitted with a wheelhouse fabricated from 6mm marine grade aluminium. The vessel is also equipped with a ballasting system to adjust the vessel’s trim according to the cargo load. This system is driven by five modified KPM Bilge Predator pumps controlled from a panel in the wheelhouse.

Frank-T is powered by twin Doosan L136 engines, each developing 160bhp at 2,200 rpm through Dong-I DMT90 reversing gearboxes with a 2.45:1 reduction ratio. These, together with the Westerbeke generator and a complete spares package, are again supplied by WaterMota Ltd of Devon UK. The builder has for the first time chosen to cool the engines and generator using three Blokland box coolers mounted in the ship’s sides, ensuring both a compact and well protected installation.

BT Marine Ltd supplied Meercat Workboats with propellers and stern gear capable of delivering Frank-T a free running speed of 8 knots and a nominal bollard pull of 2.7 tons. A traditional twin screw arrangement was recommended due to the shallow, sandy nature of Wells Harbour.

The vessel again features a high specification Palfinger marine crane, in this case the smaller PK11001MB capable of lifting 810kg at 9.8m, perfectly suited for loading and unloading the spacious cargo hold of 18 cu/m.

Inside the wheelhouse there is a small galley with water heater, sink, microwave and day bunk. The navcomms package includes a Simrad NX40 chart plotter / radar, Furuno ST40 depth system and Icom M411 VHF. The vessel has also been equipped with a Furuno FE700 survey sounder with removable and height adjustable transducer complete with printer.

As with all Meercats built to date, Frank-T has been built to comply with the MCA Workboat Code of Practice, Category 3, enabling it to operate up to 20 miles from safe haven.