UK CTV supplier boosts fleet with Penguin vessel
Tidal Transit has expanded its CTV fleet, chartering its newest vessel to support operations at the world’s largest offshore wind farm.
Arabella Jane is a Windflex 27 CTV with Quad Volvo Penta IPS30 that was built at Penguin Shipyard and has started work supporting operations at Ørsted’s Hornsea 2 site.
She follows in the wake of eGinny, a retrofit project that also used the same IPS30 propulsion system for its fuel efficiency and readiness for battery-powered propulsion, said Leo Hambro, Tidal Transit director, who spoke this year at Seawork about his keenness to see fully electric vessels and offshore charging develop.
“Having previously serviced weather masts in the area over a decade ago with our 20m Mercurio fleet, we’ve come full circle and are delighted to be back at Hornsea,” he said. “This charter-before-arrival agreement with Ørsted has given us strong encouragement and underscores the industry’s confidence in our reliability and reputation for delivering top-tier, energy-efficient and low-risk logistics solutions.
“Offshore wind requires high-specification crew transport to support its rapid expansion and journey towards decarbonisation. We’re keeping the electric dream alive by providing the industry with fuel-efficient, retrofittable frontrunner CTVs right now, while at the same time committing to the delivery of zero-carbon, battery-powered vessels in the near future.”
Hornsea 2 became operational in August 2022. A total of 165 Siemens Gamesa 8MW wind turbines cover an area of 462km2, and one single rotation of the 81m blades can deliver enough electricity to power one household for 24 hours, the turbine manufacturer says.
At the moment the world’s largest offshore wind farm, this is unlikely to remain the case for long, with turbines now delivering 15MW, almost twice the generation capacity of those at Hornsea 2.
