Gould Services gets a foothold
Many parties are involved with the construction of the Borssele III & IV offshore windfarm, and contractor Van Oord recently signed an agreement with Gould Services in Vlissingen for providing offshore wind services. Gould was selected by the Dutch contractor to act as its key logistics hub for the windfarm. For this task, Van Oord will also make use of Gould’s offshore service base in Vlissingen.
The agreement contains berth facilities related to crew transfer vessels and survey vessels, providing onshore logistic services, storage and handling of tools and other related offshore equipment, as well as marine coordination. Gould will also provide the Dutch contractor with facility services. In addition, Gould has started the preparations of building a dedicated accommodation with 60 rooms for offshore windfarm technicians and management. The building will have direct quay access, so crew can seamlessly be transferred from their crew transfer vessel to hotel accommodations. For crew changes, the Gould facilities are located nearby direct road and rail connections to the surrounding airports. The construction of this accommodation is planned for after this Summer.
According to Arjen Pattenier, co-founder and member of the Gould advisory board, this contract has already resulted in a valuable spinoff for the young company. “The current contract,” he says, “only involves the construction phase, but we have now been asked to make an offer for providing services during the operational phase as well. From our location in Vlissingen, we could act perfectly as a hub for the windfarm’s maintenance.” The Gould management has been involved in the offshore wind construction and port logistics since the beginning of 2007. Gould is a private company with three core activities: Gould Wind Park Services, Gould Logistics, and Gould Offshore Service Base. The services offered to Van Oord are a joint effort of the three entities, in close collaboration with local suppliers.
For Orsted’s Borssele I & II offshore windfarm project, cable solutions provider Nexans will be using the services of Gould, too. “Since we started our company, we have been working hard to get a foothold in the renewables onshore and offshore market and so far, things are doing well”, Mr Pattenier states. “In the services we offer, we can profit from our excellent location in Vlissingen and from the ample experienced suppliers that Zeeland has to offer as well. Together, we can offer a broad range of services that aligns very well with our customers’ requests.”
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