Norwegian shipyard Umoe Mandal has unveiled its Wavecraft Voyager crew transfer vessel series, which could be utilised in the offshore wind sector.
The company said the vessel is able to transport crew at speeds of more than 58 knots, even in high sea states, and so it can compete with helicopter transfers.
The Wavecraft Voyager is designed as an air-cushion catamaran and has an active vertical motion damping system.
The damping system allows the craft to reach offshore installations “even when the distance from harbour is far and the weather for safe operations is narrow in almost half the time, compared to alternative vessels”. Umoe Mandal said.
Umoe Mandal vice president of sales and marketing Are Søreng said: “The market has been waiting for this.
“Not only can we offer a commercially-viable alternative to helicopters, Wavecraft Voyager really doesn’t have an equivalent vessel in the market for comparison.”
