Mainport Shipping has welcomed a new survey support ship to Cork amid strong demand for seabed survey vessels in the European wind energy market.
The new ship, Mainport Edge, was constructed by Fujian Mawei Shipbuilding in China and is 59.6 metres in length overall. It is the second wind energy offshore support ship in the Mainport Shipping fleet.
“The complexity of surveying the seabed in deep waters, requires specialist vessels and support such as the Mainport Edge,” Dave Ronayne, Chief Executive of Mainport Shipping explained.
“Our market is fragmented with many shipping companies each with a limited number of ships.
“There is no dominant player. Through our long-standing experience of providing specialist vessels, combined with the investment in our initial modern survey support ships, we are, with the support of MML, on a definitive growth path in this market,” he added.
After purchase in China, Mainport sailed the ship to Turkey where extensive modifications were carried out to cater for the offshore wind market. Mainport Shipping said the current market value of the ship is €25 million.
The ship has already worked in the Mediterranean for six months following her modifications in Turkey. It will now commence a new charter in the Malin sea area to the West of Scotland.
Mainport Shipping said it plans to acquire more survey support ships to meet the growth in demand from the offshore wind energy sector.
