Statoil Hires Big Cat Duo for Dudgeon

Rix Sea Shuttle has won a contract to supply two crew transfer vessels to the 402MW Dudgeon offshore wind farm, currently under construction off the coast of Norfolk.

The contract, with Norwegian oil-major Statoil, will see the vessels the Rix Leopard and Rix Lion carry technicians to and from the Dudgeon situated around 20 miles offshore from Cromer. The value of the contract is in excess of GBP 2 million.

The Rix Leopard 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 the work will get underway in August and run for 14 months.

The contract, which has an option to extend, was brokered by Surrey-based Derrick Offshore & Kristiansand-based Pareto JGO Shipbrokers

“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,” Doyle said.

”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 wind farm is a joint venture that is owned by Statoil, Statkraft and Masdar. The GBP 1.5 billion wind farm is expected to start generating electricity in early 2017.