The MP for Copeland visited Whitehaven Harbour this week to view the prototype vessel Tenacity which is the first WaveAccess ship constructed.
Trudy Harrison MP met with directors of Coastal Charters, a commercial maritime business based in West Cumbria to learn more about the research and development into the WaveAccess project, a rapid crew transfer vessel for the offshore industry.
The primary purpose of the vessel, Tenacity is to transport and transfer up to 12 workers to wind farm sites that are in the seas.
Tenacity is designed to travel in adverse sea conditions that would preclude vessels such as catamarans that are normally used.
Compared to vessels currently used in the offshore wind service, it will dramatically reduce fuel consumption whilst travelling at around twice the speed and maintaining safety and improving comfort.
Trudy Harrison MP commented: “To have the innovative vessel Tenacity built in West Cumbria is a great achievement for all concerned and I commend the vision of Steve Beadsmoore and his son Nathan in their comprehension of constructing a ship that is futuristic in design.
“They are right to focus on the combination of being able to operate in conditions that other competing vessels can’t and of course the very significant fuel and carbon reductions. It is surely a vessel that will be of great interest to Wind Farm operators around our coastline and even further afield.”
Fuel usage by Tenacity is greatly less than other competing vessels used in similar operations. In a test over 74 days Tenacity was able to demonstrate a daily fuel reduction of 573.11 litres leading to a total fuel saving of 42.41 tonnes of diesel which produced a financial saving of approximately 20K.
Over and above these reductions of fuel usage there is also significant benefits in much lower carbon emissions.
Nathan Beadsmoore, said: “We were pleased to be able to show Trudy Harrison MP around our Prototype vessel Tenacity so that she could see first-hand how innovative our design is.
“Our hope is that Wind Farm operators will want to use our WaveAccess vessels to be their primary mode of transport in getting technicians to their sites.”
