Visitors could see the christening of the Damen High Speed Support Vessel 2610, Marineco Dignity, on the second day of the Seawork International 2012 exhibition in Southampton. The ceremony was performed by Pauline Millar, the godmother of the vessel.
The 26.3 metre long and 10.4 metre broad Marineco Dignity is the third vessel of this class that Damen Shipyards Group delivered to Marineco. A fourth vessel is currently being built with a scheduled delivery late October this year. Mike Conafray, managing director of Marineco, told us he is negotiating with Damen for another two vessels to be delivered in 2013. Conafray: “These vessels will be the same size as the other four. It is the best you can get.”
The vessel will sail tomorrow for Emden in Germany, where she will be based for work on the BARD Offshore I wind farm, 80 kilometres north of the island of Borkum, joining her sister vessel Marineco Mariah. Mike Conafray is pleased with the cooperation between Marineco and BARD: “Our working relationship is very good. We received good feedback from the client regarding the vessel and their input is valuable to us. We enjoy working in Germany, it has been a good experience.”
Albert Ulferts , head of nautical inspection at BARD , agrees and adds: “Andrew, the captain of the Marineco Dignity, was also captain on the Marineco Mariah. He knows the ship and he knows the wind farm. The ship’s crew is very professional and our working relationship is excellent.”
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Offshore WIND staff, May 23, 2012; Image: Offshore Wind