Northumberland engineering firm secures first China offshore wind project

Osbit Ltd, the offshore engineering and technology company, has secured its first project in the China offshore wind market.

The Northumberland-based company has been contracted to deliver one of its crew-transfer ‘walk-to-work’ access systems.

Osbit Ltd has produced a MaXccess T12 system to be installed on a 20 metre crew-transfer vessel, which is currently under construction by the Aurora Yachts shipyard in Dalian, China.

The vessel will be deployed by the State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC), which is one of China’s top five power suppliers, as part of its Binhai wind farm projects.

Providing engineers with safe access to offshore wind turbines, the MaXccess T12 can operate in two-metre wave height conditions.

Fabricated at Osbit’s North East facility at Port of Blyth, the T12 will be transported to the Dalian shipyard where it will be installed and commissioned on the vessel with the support of a team of Osbit engineers.

The T12 is part of Osbit’s range of active and passive modular access systems, with systems designed to support both catamaran Crew Transfer Vessels (CTVs) and larger Service Operation Vessels (SOVs) and jack-up accommodation vessels.

This project follows on from Osbit’s previous activity in South East Asia’s offshore renewables market, which includes the deployment of one of its T18 MaXccess systems that has been operating at the Fukushima offshore wind farm in Japan for the past three years.

Ben Webster, sales and marketing manager at Osbit, said: “China and South East Asia is experiencing a growth in offshore renewables activity and this project is an important step for Osbit as we build on our track-record for the delivery of innovative and reliable access systems in the international offshore wind sector.

“Effective offshore walk-to-work systems are at the core of ensuring efficient operations, with minimal downtime. Osbit’s MaXccess systems, which can operate in high Sea State environments while maintaining crew safety at all times, are proving to be an attractive solution to shipbuilders and wind farm operators in existing and new markets.”

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