Coastwise Offshore Services and Next Generation Shipyards signed a contract for the building of a new type of vessel, an aluminum vessel for the offshore wind-industry, with an option for three additional vessels.
The signing took place at Next Generation Shipyards on Lauwersoog, the Netherlands. The new boat aims to combine the stability of a catamaran with the speed and fuel efficiency of a monohull, and the building of the vessel was at the initiative of Coastwise Offshore Services, the new shipping enterprise owned by Eelko Wijdieks, Douwe van den Berg and Onno Nienhuis. Harlingen-based SeaZip Offshore Service will be responsible for the commercial management of the vessel.
Shipping entrepreneurs Eelko Wijdieks and Douwe van den Berg, who have operated in the dry cargo market for years, are extending their operations to the offshore energy market. Everything fell into place after they had contacted Albert Keizer, the Managing Director of Next Generation Shipyards, and the Ondernemershuis Noord-Groningen.
“For quite some time, Albert Keizer intended to design a crew tender himself,” said Douwe van den Berg from Coastwise. “Our plans complemented one another well. In close collaboration with marine architect Fred van Dorresteijn (VDD Design, Dordrecht), Next Generation Shipyards succeeded in translating our basic principles into an unparalleled vessel design. The design provides the stability of a traditional catamaran and the speed and fuel efficiency of a monohull, which implies ultimate comfort combined with the best possible performance. Absolutely the best of both worlds.”
The combination of monohull and catamaran is reflected in the new vessel type name: the 30 Pax Monomaran Crewtender- Endurance class NG2727. The vessel is scheduled to be delivered to Coastwise December 2021 and sail under the name of COS Master. The vessel will measure 27 meters long, providing ample room for 30 passengers and a load of 15 to 22 tons. It will be fitted with a deck crane, and its cruising speed is 27 knots.
Raising € 5 million
Making plans is one thing, executing them takes money, in this case € 5 million. In the face of the corona crisis, Wijdieks and Van den Berg managed to raise the money via a ‘counter-cyclical financing’. With the help of Ondernemershuis Noord-Groningen, Coastwise succeeded in stirring the interest of a small group of private investors in the project, and the fact that entrepreneur Onno Nienhuis (Hendrikson Holding B.V., Zoutkamp) decided to participate as partner/owner worked as an accelerator. In the development phase, the Province of Groningen offered a helping hand by providing seed funding. The Fonds Nieuwe Doen, which was set up at the initiative of the Province of Groningen and finances projects in the fields of healthcare, renewable energy, and quality of life in the Province of Groningen, granted a loan.
Once the vessels have been completed, Coastwise Offshore Services will outsource the commercial management of the Monomaran Crewtender to SeaZip Offshore Service in Harlinge, which has built a substantial network in the offshore wind, oil and gas industry, both in Northern Europe and globally.