Arklow Marine Services completes €2.3m UK client order

Family-run business Arklow Marine Services has completed a €2.3m order for a vessel that will be used to deliver service personnel to offshore wind farms in the UK.

The nature and design of offshore turbines necessitates vessels of high specification and unique design suitable for servicing them.

The Gardian 18 is the third such vessel the company has delivered to Alicat, a subsidiary of UK offshore wind specialists Gardline in the past three years.

With capacity for 12 personnel and two crew, it has a sprint speed of 30 knots, a service speed 25 knots and a range of 800 nautical miles.

Gardline specialises in supporting the deployment, operation and maintenance of offshore wind farms.  The Gardian 18 will enter service in late November.  This vessel will principally be used to deliver service personnel to the offshore wind farms.

Arklow Marine Services started trading in 1864 and is now led by naval architect Billy Tyrell and marine engineer John Tyrell.

It currently employs 30 local people and supports employment with other contractors in the region.

Billy Tyrell said: “Over the past number of years Arklow Marine Services has developed a reputation for delivering high performance vessels for the renewable industry.

“Offshore wind is a rapidly growing sector in the UK and we are well positioned to take advantage of that market.  Hopefully, we will see similar development in Irish offshore projects.”

The UK is in the process of developing 33 GW of offshore wind energy over the next decade – roughly seven times the total electricity demand in Ireland.

Brian Britton of the National Offshore Wind Association said the contract win for Arklow Marine Services was an example of how Irish companies could compete for the supply chain opportunities that offshore wind development presented. Source: Afloat.