Irish operator welcomes Island Meercat

A powerful, versatile and manoeuvrable work platform, the

Island Meercat

is perfectly suited to a variety of marine construction projects including piling, cable laying, diving, survey, supply, dredging support, buoy and harbour maintenance.

The Island Meercat splits into two hulls and is thus road transportable, so can be mobilised safely and quickly direct to the work area and can be operational within one hour of arrival. The vessel is coded MCA Workboat Code Category 3, allowing 20 nautical miles from a safe haven.

Mobilisation is straightforward. The hulls travel on road trailers on board a Ro-Ro ship to a major port and are then lifted off by crane for onward transport by road if required. Once joined together the complete vessel can then travel by sea to the work site. The maximum crane lift required is 25 tons.

Island Shipping is a multi-disciplinary marine organisation based on the East Coast of Ireland. The company has worked extensively on the Arklow Bank Windfarm for the past five years and operates another 21m multi-purpose tug called Husky.

Commenting on the newbuild, Tim Greenwood from Island Shipping said, ‘When we first came across the Meercat we saw instantly the flexibility and ease of use that the vessel brings to nearshore marine construction projects. In fact, we were so confident in the Meercat concept that we ordered a second Meercat. Mobilisation is rapid, the vessel can travel to just about anywhere in Ireland or the UK within 24 hours. With a large deck area she can be configured easily to client requirements.’

Island Shipping’s second Meercat workboat, Island Partnr , will be completed in December 2009.

Island Meercat’s engines, gearboxes and genset have been supplied by Devon UK based Watermota Ltd. Its heavy duty 8.1 litre six cylinder Doosan L136Ti turbocharged and intercooled main engines each develop 230bhp at 2,200rpm. The engines are arranged for heat exchanger cooling and are fitted with 24 volt marine specification insulated return electric starting with battery charging alternators. The engines are supplied with EIAPP emission compliance certificates and are direct coupled to Dong-I DMT11OA reversing gearboxes with a 2.09:1 reduction ratio. Propellers were supplied by Watermota’s Devon neighbour BT Marine Propellers Ltd. The Westerbeke 8.3kW three phase, 50Hz, 230/380 volt marine specification genset is powered by a Mitsubishi marine diesel close coupled to a Mecc Alte alternator, all mounted on common base rails and flexible mounts.

The powerful Palfinger PK2350MC deck crane is capable of handling large anchors and weights over the bow. Maximum reach is 12m with a lift capability of 1.57 tons. The versatility of the Island Meercat is further enhanced by the Dinamic Oil P15 winch which is fitted to the crane. It contains 55m of wire and has a lift capacity of between 1,600 and 2,500kg.

Island Meercat is the fifth road transportable Meercat to be built by Meercat Workboats. It features bow washboards between push knees for a drier deck when steaming; fuel and fresh water cargo tanks and transfer pumps. Flush spud pole guides are another new feature which allows greater deck capacity. The vessel also features an Ultramist fire fighting system in the engine rooms supplied by Ocean Engineering (Fire) Ltd. A black water tank and discharge system together with additional submersible bilge pumps have been fitted below deck.