AWARDS 2024 | Best Small Pilot Boat – Hibernia – Holyhead Marine Services

While at first glance appearing to be rather traditional, this new 15-metre pilot boat for busy Belfast Harbour in Northern Ireland, Hibernia, is really very far from it. Indeed, it is absolutely up-to-date in every respect.

Able to be fuelled by vegetable oil, its hyper efficient engines produce sparse emissions anyway, giving the craft a very impressively low environmental footprint.

Intended to be very efficient and as safe as possible, the boat has been equipped with the absolute latest in equipment to ensure that those important objectives are fully realised. She is a fine and very impressive vessel.

"Hibernia was the first of the Holyhead pilot boat series to incorporate a new and improved refined hull, as well as being the first Holyhead pilot boat to include a Tier III emissions system," Daniel Firth, Managing Director of Holyhead Marine, told Baird Maritime. "Both advances have since been rolled out across the Holyhead 15.2-metre and 16.6-metre pilot models, along with a number of other improvements seen on Hibernia.

The refined hull offers reduced fuel consumption and improved comfort via reduced slamming accelerations, whilst maintaining the all-round seakeeping capabilities and pilot specific shape synonymous with these hulls.

Alongside the hull improvements, the 15.2-metre Hibernia further reduces emissions by incorporating a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system to meet the IMO Tier III requirements.

"Hibernia’s hull was manufactured using resin infusion and is cored to offer a robust structure," added Firth. "The process allows for optimised weight control as well as reducing resin curing emissions.

"The wheelhouse has been resiliently mounted to reduce noise and vibration. Combined with shock mitigating seating this improves comfort, but more importantly can lead to a marked reduction in crew fatigue. The window design has also been optimised to further improve all-round visibility, and the forward windows have been modified to forward-raking to reduce glare and minimise use of the wipers."

Firth explained that, although the subject of weight control has always been at the forefront of high-speed pilot boat designs and builds, the current drive for reducing fuel consumption and emissions has accelerated that.

"The knock-on effect of reducing weight is one of increased motions for the crew and pilots on board. As a result, developing solutions to improve comfort on lighter vessels is an ongoing trend.

"Similarly, the introduction of IMO Tier III regulations has led ship builders and designers to incorporate SCR systems into their vessels, which in turn has introduced challenges in maintaining weight control. This, combined with the pursuit for lower fuel consumption, has led to lighter weight structures to accommodate the extra weight associated with these SCR systems."

Further on regulations, within the UK, the introduction of the latest MCA Workboat Code has led to stricter safety, environmental and operational standards. According to Firth, this had led to a number of changes in the way Holyhead Marine manufactures its boats, and Hibernia is believed to be one of the first boats to be surveyed and certified to the code, which presented some challenges.

"Since the introduction of the updated code, we have successfully delivered four pilot boats that are certified to the updated code and are currently building a 17-metre fisheries patrol boat, which will also be built under survey and certified to edition three of the code."

Amid the need to adhere to updated regulations, Holyhead Marine delivered a favourable performance in 2024, leading to what Firth said is optimism about future opportunities.

"The positive feedback from customers on our recent pilot boat deliveries in particular has been very encouraging, generating significant interest across the industry," he told Baird Maritime. "We believe our current range of vessels positions us well to capture these opportunities and build on this momentum over the coming years."

Firth also believes that the push for lower emissions and fuel consumption has resulted in significant research and development being invested in battery, hybrid and alternative fuel technologies.

"The very specific role of pilotage remains one of the most challenging sectors in this respect. The combination of vessel size, the need for higher speeds to transit out to pilot boarding stations, the rough conditions, and the irregular timetable of ship movements creates real and significant hurdles to designers, builders and operators adopting these technologies.

"Whilst hybrid [propulsion] may be viewed as the best of both worlds, installing both diesel and electric (or alternative fuels) can have a significant weight penalty, which on high-speed pilot boats and their typical operational profiles can prevent this from being a viable option."

Firth added that an all-electric all-weather pilot boat solution is not currently viable for the vast majority of ports. However, should an operator have a need for short or low-speed transit, or should they be prepared to invest in two electric vessels to replace one diesel vessel (allowing for charging time), then an electric solution may be viable, especially as battery technology appears to continuously improve over time.

"Alongside the drive for reduced emissions in the pilotage sector is the push for improved safety," Firth remarked. "Pilot transfers remain a high-risk activity and so advances in technology to improve pilot safety during these operations remain a high priority, be it adoption of self-righting designs, improvements in vessel motion control and comfort, MOB recovery or vessel layouts and ergonomics."

With regards to the UK workboat industry, Firth believes that the most anticipated advancement would be a zero-emissions propulsion system that is likely to be based on electric propulsion systems.

"The question is what will be the source of the power," he told Baird Maritime. "Will it be on board battery storage, hydrogen fuel cells or some other method of generating electricity? The key thing for our segment of the workboat industry (i.e., medium- to high-speed craft) is that the power-to-weight ratio has to be similar to that of a diesel engine with the appropriate amount of fuel, a prospect which seems like it is some distance away."

For a list of the 2024 "Best Of" award winners, please click here.