Two pilot boat customers left in limbo by the collapse of Isle of Wight boatbuilder Seaward have had their projects rescued after Absolute Marine stepped in to complete the unfinished vessels.
Seaward, which built Halmatic Nelson pilot boats under licence, entered liquidation last year with three boats still under construction – one for the Port of Algeciras Pilots’ Corporation and two for Gibraltar. Rather than see the projects abandoned, fellow Cowes company Absolute Marine took over the contracts, completed the builds and has already delivered the first vessel.
The successful handover to Algeciras has since been followed by the launch of Absolute Marine’s first HN-35 pilot boat, while the company has secured a further order for a vessel destined for Aruba.
For CEO Graeme Howells, completing the stranded boats was about preserving the reputation of one of the best-known names in pilot boat design while demonstrating that the Halmatic Nelson still has a future.
“Our target audience is customers who have had Halmatic Nelson boats before, so they know them,” he said. “HNs have been in service for a long time and are known for their stability and reliability – they’re trusted throughout the globe by pilot operators.”
Rather than redesign the proven Nelson hull, Absolute Marine has concentrated on modernising the platform to improve the working environment for crews and reduce operating costs.
“What Absolute Marine has done is taken something that’s already very good and elevated it to the next level of crew comfort, safety and accessibility,” said Howells.
Among the changes are a floating wheelhouse mounted on anti-vibration mounts, an interior finish designed to help reduce fatigue, with items such as individual crew lighting, USB charging points and radio relays, together with improved maintenance access. Safety equipment has also been enhanced with the addition of a man-overboard davit and options such as a man-overboard recovery platform.
“We’ve made it a lot more ergonomic as well, both inside and out, and we believe port authorities will have something they are proud of and that we are proud of making for them,” he said.
The company believes the successful completion of the orphaned Seaward projects has already helped restore confidence in the Halmatic Nelson brand.
“After the launch in December of the HN-40 for the Port of Algeciras Pilots’ Corporation, we’ve today launched the HN-35,001 for Gibraltar Pilots and in January we were privileged to be awarded a contract to build one for Aruba Port Authority Pilots,” said Howells, with further developments already under consideration.
