All-weather workboat berthing solutions at Seawork

Specialists in pontoon manufacture and design, Inland and Coastal Marina Systems (ICMS) is showcasing its berthing options for workboats and crew transfer vessels (CTV) at Seawork, 21-23 June 2022.

Aimed at supporting operations in commercial ports and harbours, ICMS’ tailor-made solutions provide safe working conditions for workers all year round, day and night.

For each project, ICMS says it works with individual port authorities, power companies and other interested parties to ensure that its water access solutions meet the customer’s requirements. Often working with limited space, ICMS considers the existing infrastructure of the port or harbour to deliver a cost-effective and sustainable solution.

Last year, Portland Harbour Authority approached ICMS to design a custom berth to accommodate its new 287T tug, within the confines of its existing operational pontoons and factoring in its higher freeboard. The result was a 21.5m heavy-duty pontoon with a 750mm freeboard, with a durable, anti-slip surface provided by the Glass Reinforced Fibre (Work Surface) decking (pictured left).

“We are pleased with our existing Inland and Coastal harbour workboat pontoons. I was confident their practical, design engineering skills would solve our new tugboat berth requirement in a tight corner of the harbour,” says Alex Hayes, general manager dryside.

“Within no time at all they had worked out how to make it fit and resolved the issue of connecting into existing pontoons and access ways at different levels.”

With the growth in the offshore renewable energy sector, new operations and maintenance (O&M) bases are required. ICMS’ experienced in-house design team can plan specialised pontoons for these bases with variable freeboard heights, matching those of the crew transfer vessels using them.

ICMS recently installed a new 30m heavy-duty pontoon on Montrose Port’s South Quay to service Scotland’s largest windfarm, Seagreen Offshore Wind Farm. Using GRP decking with anti-slip properties suitable for commercial applications, coupled with high-level task lighting, the CTV crews will have safe access to vessels during the commissioning and ongoing maintenance phases of the offshore facilities.

Lynn Sayer, business and commercial manager at Montrose Port Authority, comments: “We’re delighted with the new 30m pontoon which will soon see operations staff and maintenance teams safely boarding crew vessels for transfer to the Seagreen Offshore Wind Farm.

“The decision to award the contract for this project to Inland and Coastal Marina Systems has proved a very wise investment, with the resulting facility not only being extremely well designed and engineered, but delivered on time and on budget.”

To learn more about improving commercial berthing facilities or replacing existing water access for workboats and CTVs, speak with the Inland and Coastal Marina Systems team at Seawork (21-23 June) on stand G47.