The first of two Damen Twin Axe Fast Crew Suppliers has been handed over to British company Sure Wind. A specialist in the German offshore wind market, Sure Wind already has work for the two newbuild FCS 2610 vessels. The first vessel Sure Star will head straight to Esbjerg and will then be deployed in the German market. A second sister vessel, Sure Swift will be delivered end-February.
The FCS 2610 is being built at Damen Shipyards Singapore, which is a group specialist in high-speed aluminium craft.
Established in 2009, Sure Wind now has 10 dedicated wind farm service and crew transfer vessels but this is the first time the company has ordered a Damen vessel. However, Sure Wind owns the first FCS 2610 ever built – the Shamal - which it acquired from another British offshore wind company in July 2013. This vessel was then renamed Sure Shamal.
“We were very pleased with Shamal’s performance and have been keen to buy a new Damen FCS 2610," said Andrew Bagshaw, operations director of Sure Wind Marine Ltd. "This design is very popular with crew transfer and energy companies because of its excellent seakeeping abilities. And indeed, wherever we are tendering clients are asking for the 2610.”
“We also operate 20m DNV classed vessels, which are mostly employed in Germany or Denmark as they have the German Equivalence Certification." he said. "We wanted to get larger vessels, especially because more and more offshore wind farms are going further offshore.”
It was very important to Sure Wind that their new vessels are classed in line with German requirements, said Bagshaw. Fast delivery times were also crucial for the company. The Sure Star was only ordered in the September last year.
