Trawlercat Marine Designs (TMD), a specialised power catamaran design company, officially entered the 2010 UK Carbon Trust OWA competition with a very innovative 20m “North Sea-Cat” vessel design. However, the company has revised its 2010 competition entry design with two new models.
The Offshore Wind Accelerator (OWA) competition was initiated by the UK Carbon Trust to encourage and discover innovative new ideas to accelerate the development of the offshore wind industry.
As offshore wind farms move further offshore and in order to compensate for the number of non productive bad weather days, TMD is re-engineering the 20m North Sea-Cat to provide two more production models.
The first is a 35m x 12m North Sea Carbon-Cat (NSC-C) capable of speeds of 40+ knots for up to 30 technicians and equipment. Its foil assisted comfortable high speed will allow it to reach its destination in half the time it would take a similar size aluminium cat.
The 35m will be equipped with the latest stabilised “walk to work” (W2W) transfer system. This will allow technicians and their equipment to safely transfer to the wind turbine tower platform in seas with significant wave heights up to 2.5m. It will have a large aft deck for spare parts, major equipment and diving facilities if required.
The 35m NSC-C can also transfer work crews to an offshore accommodation vessel and stay on site for weeks at a time working in this mode. This represents a more productive approach especially during the 25 year O&M period and it should help to reduce or maintain the cost of electricity.
The second high speed carbon fibre foil assisted model is a 50m x 14m NSC-C. This model comes with all the features of the 35m plus its own accommodation and recreational facilities for up to 30 technicians and a vessel crew of 12. It will have the ability to safely transfer work crews directly to a turbine tower platform using the same W2W transfer system as the 35m and to stay on site for 3 to 4 weeks at a time.
The NSC-C’s will be manufactured in production moulds using carbon fibre composites. Carbon fibre is ten times stronger than aluminium and less than half its weight. The lighter weight of TMD’s Carbon-Cat workboats allows using smaller engines that weigh less and burn 50% less fuel than similar size aluminium cats and still outperform them. Carbon fibre does not rust, corrode or crack and will have low maintenance costs and a longer life cycle.
President and CEO of Trawlercat Marine Designs, Captain Graham Pfister said: “The catamaran concept has proven itself to be the most stable workboat for the offshore wind industry but we have included fast acting ballast tanks for increased stability in very rough conditions and for overnight anchoring at sea.”
He said that his company is close to commercialising the 35m and 50m carbon fibre designs, adding that an input from potential partners is welcome as TMD moves forward to building a 35m prototype.