Blyth awoke to a new feature on its skyline this morning as a mammoth offshore heavy transport vessel slipped into the Port at sunrise.
Officially the largest ship to visit the harbour in the history of the Port, the Norwegian owned Albatross is a 34,700 tonne offshore heavy transport vessel typically used to move huge pieces of equipment and even other vessels.
The 204 metre Albatross is in Blyth as part of a project led by international offshore support company Gulf Marine Services and is carrying GMS Evolution, a 6366 tonne light displacement jack up barge that will shortly be supporting the installation of offshore wind turbines in the North Sea.
Martin Lawlor, Chief Executive of Port of Blyth, said: “Receiving the Albatross and the GMS Evolution is another milestone achieved in an exciting few months for the Port of Blyth. New client Gulf Marine Services will now proceed with a number of important works on GMS Evolution and its sister vessel GMS Endeavour, which is already in the Port, at our South Harbour terminal and we’re looking forward to supporting those works.”
Home to offshore energy market leaders such as Global Marine, Royal IHC, DeepOcean and Osbit, Port of Blyth features an effective supply chain of offshore partners and operators. Now viewed as one of the UK’s fastest growing offshore energy bases, the Port’s most recent financial results included record turnover and profits.
Gulf Marine Services have been contracted by Ørsted, the owner and developer of the Hornsea One wind farm, to provide two offshore accommodation vessels for wind farm technicians. Once works are completed in Blyth, the two jack up barges will provide accommodation for up to 150 technicians, as well as access via a static gangway to the wind farm’s three substations.
