On Friday 7 October, Alicat Workboats saw the launch of its sixth vessel since being set up just over two years ago, establishing itself as a market leader in providing state-of-the-art catamarans to the offshore renewables sector.
The Alicat which was named the Smeaton Array is being supplied by Gardline to the London Array wind farm project near Kent, which will power 480,000 homes by 2012. It will now serve as a crew transport vessel for phase one of the London Array project in Ramsgate where 175 turbines and two offshore substations will be constructed.
The Smeaton Array was blessed by Great Yarmouth port chaplain Rev Peter Paine during a ceremony at Trinity Quay, Great Yarmouth.
The vessel received the title from Kent resident Sue Shove who won a Gardline competition to name the boat. The Smeaton Array was named after the civil engineering pioneer John Smeaton who developed Ramsgate Harbour.
Michael Martins, Business Manager for Coastal Services at Gardline said: “We started out in coastal services five years ago with just two survey vessels and six staff – now we have 12 vessels and over 60 staff.”
The 20m aluminium catamaran is capable of carrying 12 passengers and reaching speeds of 28.7 knots. Steve Thacker, general manager at Alicat Workboats, said: “We’re immensely pleased with how quickly the business has taken off and the level of interest being shown in the Alicat. The vessels provide an ideal platform to carry out a range of activities such as diving, hydrographic surveying and the transfer of cargo and equipment.”