SOMERSET, Mass. – November 12, 2024 – Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corporation, has delivered its first crew transfer vessel (CTV) to Patriot Offshore Maritime Services. The vessel will operate year-round, transportation service for 24 offshore workers and equipment to support the construction and O&M phases of offshore wind projects on the U.S. East Coast
Designed by Incat Crowther Design, the all-aluminum high-speed catamaran is certified to USCG Subchapter-L and Lloyds Register Special Service Craft Rules. It has an overall length of 88.5 ft., beam of 29.5 ft. and draft of 5.6 ft. The vessel is powered by a four Scania DI16, 8-cylinder, 4 cycle, EPA Tier-3 compliant diesel engines, each rated at 788 Bhp (588 bkW) at 2,100 rpm. Each main engine drives a Hamilton HM521 waterjet through a ZF-665 reverse-reduction gearbox. Humphree interceptors, with Automatic Trim Optimization, are installed at the transom. Top speed is 29 knots.
Electricity is produced by a 55kW Kohler EPA Tier 3 compliant genset in each of the two engine rooms.
The vessel carries 6,800 gallons of cargo fuel, along with fuel pumps and a hose reel, to supply the wind turbines’ auxiliary generator.
The resiliently-mounted superstructure is located aft of midship with port and starboard side decks and working/cargo decks fore and aft. The large foredeck is set up to carry two 20 ft. ISO containers and to transfer the offshore workers over the bow. To facilitate wind-turbine landings, the bow is outfitted with a resiliently-mounted RG Seasight fendering system. On the bow is a 14.3 t-m, hydraulic knuckle boom crane with an 8.1-meter reach.
Each hull is divided into four watertight compartments, which includes two crew staterooms and a lounge. The main deck, accessible by an aft and two side doors, includes seating for the offshore workers, a galley, wet locker, two heads and showers, and storage racks.
The upper deck includes a wheelhouse and two double staterooms. The wheelhouse, with windows on all sides for nearly 360-degree visibility, is located on the second deck and accessible by interior stairs and an aft exterior ladder. It includes three shock-mitigating helm seats. The control console across the front includes centerline engine and waterjet controls and navigation and communication electronics. A 144,000 Btu air cooled air-conditioning/reverse cycle heat system services the main salon, upper state rooms, crew quarters and the wheelhouse.
The vessel is equipped with a Reygar BareFleet vessel monitoring system to continuously log performance data from various systems, including the engines, waterjets control system, accelerations at the bow, generators, fuel tank levels and NMEA navigational/weather information, and video during turbine transfer operations.