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EUROPEAN UPDATE vessel will spend much of her ser- vice life in stern operation and will be crewed by just three. With the latter factor in mind, all winches are controlled from the bridge. Onboard equipment includes an Effer crane, SES electronics pack- age, a Jason's Cradle man-overboard device, a Vicam alarm and monitor- ing system and two wheelhouse top- mounted water/foam monitors. When the contract, valued at $5.5 million, was placed, an option for a second identical vessel was also mooted but, said Mr. Dempster, Red Funnel has been forced to re- consider following the decision by competitive operator Howard Smith to locate one of its recently ordered tugs at Southampton early next year. "Basically, the new Howard Smith tug will leave no capacity for an- other from Red Funnel and, there- fore, the plan has had to be shelved. This is obviously a disappointment to us, but since the Red Funnel work started we've had other enqui- ries for tugs. We've enough work at the moment to take us into mid- 1996, but another contract would be good for overall security. The best news perhaps is that U.K. yards are now becoming very competitive on a worldwide level," he explained. Spanish buy British U.K. yards have been complain- ing long and loud about "unfair" competition from Spanish boat build- ers. It is, therefore, a remarkable reversal of current trends for a small boatyard located on an island in the upper reaches of the River Thames to secure an order for two 30-ft. (9- m) steel line-handling boats from La Coruna in Spain. The first vessel has been shipped, work on the sec- ond is soon to start, and the yard, Hampton Marine Services, is confi- dent that orders for nine more simi- lar vessels will follow. The customer, seeking workboats for use at oil terminals, originally approached bi okers Sunrise Inter- national for a secondhand steel ves- sel with a very low air draft, en- abling it to pass under the pile mounted pipeline to which discharg- ing tankers connect. Despite a wide ranging search it proved impossible to find a vessel meeting this re- quirement, and consequently Hamp- ton Marine was asked to quote for a newbuild — a small photograph of an existing vessel being the only guide. A design proposal was made by yard owner, Bob Sandall, and his quotation surprised the Spanish customer with its competitiveness, even when shipping costs of $7,000 were taken into account. An initial order for two boats was placed. Trials of the first craft, observed by MR/EN, took place on the Thames just five weeks after build- ing commenced. The vessel proved highly maneuverable with abundant power from a single 130-hp Perkins Sabre diesel driving a 30 by 19-in. propeller through a PRM gearbox with a 3:1 reduction ratio. Busy Dutch yard confirms versatility Confirming its status as one of Europe's most innovative and ver- satile aluminum boat builders, the Engelaer Shipyard in Holland fol- lowed the announcement of an or- der for three 65.6-ft. (20-m) pilot boats (MR/EN August 1995) with details of its latest, completely con- trasting delivery — a 101-ft. (30.7- m) aluminum schooner. Designed by Andre Hoek, the vessel, called Reesle, will be kept at La Rochelle on France's Atlantic coast for corpo- rate entertainment purposes. The yacht features a computer controlled hydraulic system allow- Dutch-built schooner for corporate entertaining. ing the helmsman to singlehandedly activate eight con- cealed winches, five sail furling op- erations, two an- chor winches and a retractable bow- thruster. Power is from a pair of240- hp MTU diesels driving 850-mm, four-bladed Hundested CP props through Twin Disc MG 5050 gearboxes. Crankshaft- driven hydraulic motors are fitted to each engine. Aluminium 5083 was used for frames and plating, and a bulb keel fitted. The hull is divided into six watertight compartments with the engine room amidships hav- ing watertight doors fore and aft. Under construction at the yard is a 62-ft. (20-m) aluminum sailing yacht. Ease of operation was a pri- mary consideration, and designer Gerry Dijkstra incorporated light- weight AeroRig mast and spars for effortless handling. The vessel will have two engine rooms — allowing a central corridor access to the owner's cabin in the stern.
