ESSEX-based offshore wind industry services company CWind has won its largest contract yet for the supply of support vessels.

The Colchester firm is to charter six crew transfer vessels to Siemens for use on its Gwynt y Môr Offshore Wind Farm project off the north coast of Wales.

The workboats, which will also be used for carrying materials, will arrive on site over the next two months as construction activity picks up.

The two most recent additions to CWind’s charter fleet, the CWind Adventure and the SC Buzzard, are the first vessels to join the Siemens team at Gwynt y Môr (which translates from Welsh as “Sea Wind”).

Both are of sister company CTruk’s proven 20T MPC design which offers a cost-effective package including class leading fuel efficiency, burning half the diesel of a comparable alloy crew vessel.

Peter Jorgensen, managing director of CWind, said: “I am delighted that CWind has won this contract from Siemens.

“We have worked on four wind farms with Siemens and this significant contract win confirms that our charter fleet delivers versatile workboats that are highly capable, safe and very cost-effective.

“To have two of our boats go to one of the largest offshore wind farm project in construction for their maiden charter, in my eyes, is a reflection of the outstanding vessel performance of our existing fleet as well as our committed skippers.”

Chris Ventre, senior project manager at Siemens for the Gwynt y Môr project, added: “This is the largest crew transfer vessel contract Siemens has awarded to a single vessel supplier in relation to a UK offshore wind farm to date.

“In awarding the contract we took into consideration vessel performance, fuel consumption and vessel availability rates as well as the team capabilities at CWind.

“With a project as large and complex as the Gwynt y Môr Offshore Wind Farm it is important for us to have total confidence in the ability of the skippers and their crew and in the quality of the vessels. With CWind we have that confidence.”

The Gwynt y Môr project involves 160 3.6megaWatt Siemens turbines with the potential to generate enough power to supply around 40% of homes in Wales. Siemens holds a 10% stake in the development, with the remainder owned by RWE Innogy and Stadtwerke München.