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Jersey becoming a "hub" for wind farm vessels

Jersey becoming a

Wednesday 17 January 2024

Jersey becoming a "hub" for wind farm vessels

Wednesday 17 January 2024


St Helier has apparently become a preferred "hub" for vessels involved in constructing offshore wind farms.

According to Ports of Jersey, the town harbour is becoming increasingly popular for supply and crew-transfer vessels to reside, drop off, store, and transfer supplies, with Ports supporting these vessels with registration and logistics – and not just those that have been constructing the St Brieuc wind farm nearby.

Njord Offshore and Farra Marine, which operate the vessels Njord Alpha and Farra Grainne, have both used Jersey as a temporary base for their vessels operating on the St Brieuc wind farm – a large wind farm just over 20 miles from Jersey. 

Technical Director for Njord Offshore, Andrew Thwaites, said: “All our fleet is Jersey-registered and our vessel Njord Alpha worked from St Helier throughout summer 2023. 

“We have found this to be a very straightforward experience, with excellent access to support from harbour master to fuel, supplies and maintenance. 

“Jersey has also served as an excellent staging post for operations on French wind farms.”

Farra_Grainne.jpg

Pictured: Farra Grainne. (Mark Pulley)

Business Development Manager for Farra Marine, Audrey Leconte, added: “We are delighted to use Saint Helier harbour as the base port for operating our crew transfer vessel on the St Brieuc offshore wind farm.

“We have registered most of our fleet under the Jersey flag and Farra Grainne has been operating in this area since November 2023, enjoying support when needed in logistics and port operations.”

Jersey Assistant Registrar of Shipping, Pierre Chays, said: “Ports of Jersey is proud to see a fleet of vessels contributing to this international operation…[which] is a tangible link between a large scale, neighbouring renewable energy construction programme and the Island of Jersey.”

It comes after the Environment Minister said that Jersey could have a wind farm within eight years. 

In June, Deputy Jonathan Renouf said that the government had been approached by several companies about building an offshore wind farm after an industry giant visited Guernsey to explore the opportunity for a similar project which would mean "billions" in investment.

He added: "This remains a very active area of consideration. While there is significant wind potential, and we have a wind regime that is favourable, that is not the only factor that is relevant.

"We also need to know about impact on the seabed and navigation areas."

Deputy Renouf said that the Marine Spatial Plan, which is due to be released later this year, will "help to scope out consenting framework" and "identify some of those issues to do with location and size".

Pictured top: Njord Alpha enter St Helier Harbour. (Mark Pulley)

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