News / NAFC’s new council funded workboat
THE NAFC Marine Centre has added a powerful new workboat to its fleet, capable of delivering a greater range of services to Shetland’s maritime industries.
The 11 metre Havra was officially named on Monday at a ceremony at the Malakoff slip, in Scalloway, by Shetland Islands Council development committee chairman Josie Simpson.
Also present were the group of school pupils from Scalloway junior high school who put forward suggestions for her name, including Heather MacDonald who submitted the winning name.
The SIC fully funded the £380,000 cost for the vessel built by Malakoff Ltd, in Lerwick.
The catamaran is fitted with two 130hp Iveco engines, and has a powerful long reach crane with a lifting capacity of 580 kilo fully stretched at 11 metres.
The new workboat will be used to support the college’s aquaculture trials site, but will also be able to undertake other types of work thanks to her flexible design, which includes a large, clear deck area.
NAFC estate manager David Hopwood said: “The main drivers for the new vessel were two-fold: we needed a vessel that was not only capable of meeting our current requirements with respect to our research scale fish farm, but also other activities being planned by our marine science and technology team.
“We also wanted to provide a suitable platform to support research and development work whilst at the same time improving facilities for all those on board.
“Having a catamaran hull design gives the Havra a high degree of inherent stability during lifting operations, which will enable us to undertake marine operations requiring greater lifting capacity that we could not previously consider.”
The new workboat will be available for hire to carry out a variety of marine operations, including survey work, benthic and ROV scientific sampling, and marine renewables project support.
Councillor Simpson said: “I am glad to see this new vessel being delivered to the NAFC Marine Centre. It is very important that the centre has access to boats and equipment that enables it to compete for training and research work, particularly as it earns a significant amount of its income from external sources.
“The involvement of the centre this summer with the deployment of the wave energy monitoring buoys will hopefully be the start of a new era in marine energy for Shetland.”
Photo: The council’s vice-convener Josie Simpson; NAFC director Professor David Gray; Lewis Grant of Malakoff; and Scalloway pupil Heather Macdonald holding the champagne cork – Photo: Billy Fox
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