Wight Shipyard Breaks into the Windfarm Market
Wight Shipyard (WSC) is breaking into the Windfarm Support Vessel (WFSV) market with the launch of its new Vortisea brand. The Vortisea brand, designed in collaboration with Australia’s Incat Crowther, is specifically geared towards European and UK windfarms, particularly those further offshore, with the operator’s expectancy for flexibility, speed and operational efficiency.
“It is fitting that being so well established in the fast ferry sector we have chosen to enter the WFSV market. There is still a niche to be filled. We will be targeting all operators, but particularly those looking for a very high-quality vessel build in Europe,” says Peter Morton, CEO of WSC. WSC is no stranger to working with Incat Crowther. Back in February, a collaboration between the two companies delivered a multi-million-pound export order for a 250-passenger river ferry to Twin City Liner (TCL) in Vienna, Austria, and earlier this month saw the launch of two 37m fast ferries due for export to Ultramar in Cancún, Mexico.
It is the first time the yard has ventured into the renewables sector. “Incat Crowther is the best partner for this brand of vessel and we are no stranger to working with them”, adds Mr Morton. “We have always been impressed with the designer’s ability to turn its hand to any type of vessel and it has a professionalism to be rivalled.” Ed Dudson, Managing Director at Incat Crowther, says that the WFSV Vortisea vessel has been designed to meet the latest standards in UK, German and Danish-Flag state requirements. “Probably the most important design feature of the vessel is its market-leading wave height capability for transfer and transit, for this reason it was important to take a step forward in traditional WFSV design”, he says.
The catamaran hull design is exceptionally efficient, constructed from lightweight marine grade aluminium, so it’s an environmentally friendly build resulting in a vessel with low fuel consumption. It is initially available two sizes a 27m and 32m with beams of 9m and 10m respectively. The vessel has multiple machinery options (CPP / FPP / Waterjet / IPS), including hybrid. Operating speeds in excess of 30 knots are achievable depending on the machinery package selected. Installation of a quad engine and propulsion package has the advantage of offering excellent redundancy.