First of 3 New Pilot Boats Launched for Milford Haven
St Brides, the first of three 19-meter pilot boats built by Mainstay Marine for the Port of Milford Haven, has recently been launched.
Shipbuilder Mainstay Marine Solutions called the £3.6 million contract a flagship project, with delivery for the second and third vessels due in April and July, respectively. A naming ceremony will be held for all three vessels late July this year.
The new pilot boats are an upgraded version of the Picton Pilot Boat built by the company in 2006. The 48-metric-ton vessels, designed by Camarc Design, are capable of reaching up to 14 knots with 12 persons on board. The craft are designed to be used extensively in heavy weather and are likely to operate in swells up to 6 meters significant wave height.
The vessels are expected to withstand 1,000 vessel boarding impacts over an average duty cycle of 2,500 hours per year.
Following a public competition administered by the port, the pilot boats are to be named after three significant landmarks within Pembrokeshire: St Brides, St Govans and St Davids.
Keel Marine were commissioned to overseen the build progress and report on key milestones.
Mainstay Marine said it has fulfilled several challenging contracts within the last 12 months, including the launch of a 50 ton wind farm support vessel, a major refit of a multicat and fabrication and assembly of the recently deployed 230-ton Delta Stream device for Tidal Energy Ltd.