Renewable energy is one of Norfolk’s most rapidly expanding industry sectors, and the construction and maintenance of offshore wind farms along its coastline is offering exciting business opportunities for services providers which are willing to respond to its many challenges.
Tidal Transit is one such company which has risen to this challenge, raising capital finance to fund the purchase of two state-of-the-art, purpose-designed 20 metre support vessels to transport construction workers and maintenance crew out into the Greater Wash and southern North Sea energy zones.
The company evolved earlier this year from an established business offering day charter fishing trips, and it is fitting that as the first new vessel, ‘Ginny Louise’, is about to arrive in North Norfolk from its Spanish boat builder (Mercurio Plastics), Tidal Transit Limited has been named in the latest EDP Future 50 Report.
“We are delighted that our evolution from fishing to servicing the green energy industry has been recognised in this way,” said Tidal Transit Commercial Director, Leo Hambro.
He continued: “I believe we are right at the beginning of a period of sustained business growth. Planning consents for more than 2,000 offshore wind turbines at no more than 15 to 20 miles from the coast between Grimsby and Lowestoft are currently being progressed; these incredible feats of engineering and construction are already creating an amazing demand for vessels for survey work and other preliminary tasks, and that demand will continue to grow as each wind farm enters its construction phase. Furthermore, with the push towards the Round 3 projects, very few of the existing vessels are able to operate at the extended distances, such as Norfolk Bank, whereas our new fleet can operate up to 150 miles from safe-haven” .
Tidal Transit’s second vessel, ‘Eden Rose’, will be delivered early in 2012, and the company has taken an option with its boat builder for a further eight vessels over the next two years. The arrival of each vessel creates jobs for four suitably qualified local crewsand employment at the Docking based company is forecast to at least double from the first quarter of 2012.
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Offshore WIND staff, December 08, 2011; Image: tidal-transit