UK: Rix Sea Shuttle bags deal with Statoil for Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm

The contract, with Norwegian oil-major Statoil, will see our vessels the 'Rix Leopard' and 'Rix Lion' carry technicians to and from the Dudgeon wind farm which is currently under construction around 20 miles offshore from Cromer.

The Rix Leopard, which is the newest and biggest wind farm service vessel in our fleet, can carry a crew of 24 technicians and the Lion carries 12. Each vessel will operate for seven days at a time, using Great Yarmouth as the base port.

James Doyle, managing director of Rix Sea Shuttle, said he was delighted to win the work which gets underway in August and runs for 14 months.

The contract, which has an option to extend, was brokered by Surrey-based Derrick Offshore & Kristiansand-based Pareto JGO Shipbrokers (Shipbrokers in the Pareto Group), who Mr Doyle described as ‘integral to the deal’.

Mr Doyle said: “We are very pleased to have won the contract with Statoil. It was a hard fought tender but the quality and size of our vessels prevailed. The Leopard is one of the biggest working in the crew transfer market today. Our expertise and service, and assistance from Derrick Offshore and Pareto JGO Shipbrokers, came together to form a very strong pitch.

“The Dudgeon wind farm is a very exciting development and we are extremely pleased to be a part of it. It is fantastic news for Norfolk, bringing a thriving industry and jobs to the region, and the UK renewables industry as a whole.” The Dudgeon offshore windfarm is a joint venture that is owned by Statoil, Statkraft and Masdar. The £1.5bn, 402MW windfarm is expected to start generating electricity in early 2017 and will provide power to around 410,000 UK homes.