American Offshore Services (AOS), an offshore vessel operator based in Providence, Rhode Island, has taken delivery of a new crewboat built by Blount Boats in nearby Warren.
Like its sister vessels Gripper and Generater, which were delivered earlier this year, Guarder is a Jones Act-compliant aluminium catamaran built to support Ørsted and Eversource's growing portfolio of offshore wind farms in the north-eastern US.
The crewboat will be berthed at Ørsted's Operations Hub at Quonset Point, and will transport wind service technicians safely to projects at sea. It will operate further out to sea, around 10 to 20 miles (16 to 32 kilometres) southeast of Block Island.
Guarder has an LOA of 99 feet (30 metres), a beam of 36.7 feet (11.2 metres), an operational draught of 6.2 feet (1.9 metres), and seating for 24 offshore turbine technicians. Up to 20 tonnes of cargo or eight 10-foot containers can be carried on the open decks forward and aft of the superstructure.
The primary design of the crewboat focuses on its soft bow and proprietary fenders. This fender system allows the vessel to work in higher sea-states with better station-keeping ability when pushing onto turbine generators out at sea.