• East of England Energy Group (EEEGR) members invited to take a guided tour of Dart Fisher at Great Yarmouth Base • Dart Fisher provides first-hand opportunity to view state-of-the-art capabilities to service energy providers in the Southern North Sea • Fendercare Marine’s operational base showcases its flexibility in providing a platform to mobilise operations into the Southern North Sea
James Fisher Marine Services Ltd (JFMS), and Fendercare Marine, both subsidiaries of James Fisher and Sons plc (JFS) – the UK’s leading marine services provider, held an open day to demonstrate the capability of their shoreside support base and the offshore support vessel, the Dart Fisher.
The Dart Fisher, which was berthed in the Fendercare Marine base in Great Yarmouth, is a state-of-the-art vessel which has been specifically designed to service the offshore energy industry, is a 26-metre catamaran with the capability to transfer up to 12 engineers, three 20ft containers with a total combined cargo weight of 30 tonnes.
The open day not only provided walk-on tours of the vessel, but gave the opportunity for guests to ask questions about the vessel to the skipper and the first mate.
The delegates were specially invited from EEEGR, which represented over 400 members from across the energy supply chain. Celia Anderson, director of Skills for Energy, EEEGR praised the initiative by saying: “Today, I have had a unique opportunity to take a guided tour of a very impressive vessel designed specifically to service marine offshore energy industry, which not many people have the chance to do. This provided a great experience for myself, but more importantly the wider members of the skills council who vary from work experience students to current employees such as Gareth, who is working with Skills for Energy for Job Centre Plus, and Loren who has just completed an MSc at the University of East Anglia on Meterology and Oceaography, specialising in offshore engineering. For these people, this opportunity is invaluable”.
John Best, head of sustainable energy at FFMS commented by saying: “I was delighted by the reaction we had from our guests, especially from those who are considering the industry for future careers. Much is said about ‘local content’, but I feel sure that by sharing our knowledge and experience in this way we will have no shortage of skilled, competent people looking to work in the offshore marine services industry”.
