Maritime specialist MCS serves with a fleet of 11 vessels dedicated to offshore wind

The wind energy industry met in Tokyo with Wind Expo, the largest wind energy event in Japan, between 15-17 March. Dirk Kujit, Maritime Craft Services representative, whom we interviewed at Wind Expo Japan, where we were a media partner as Wind Energy Magazine, shared the company’s activities and solutions in wind energy with our magazine.

Can you introduce yourself and your com- pany?

My company is called Maritime Craft Services (MCS) and we’re based in Scotland. We are owners and operators of Crew Transfer Vessels (CTVs) along with other vessel types such as Shoalbusters, Multicats and Tug Boats. Over the years we have owned a total of 6 tug boats that were built in Türkiye, 3 of which are still in our fleet today. We currently work in various maritime sectors including dredging support, oil and gas and offshore wind.

What kind of services do you offer for wind industry?

We own CTVs that take technicians from the shore or from a mothership to the offshore wind turbines. Our vessels push against the turbine boat landings and the technicians climb up to the turbines in order to repair and perform maintenance. Whilst it’s quite a simple concept the safety standards are very high.

What is the biggest project you’ve worked on?

We’ve been involved in most of the offshore wind projects in the UK and North West Europe which includes Denmark, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium and France. We’ve also worked on large scale projects outwith offshore wind that include the World and Palm Islands Projects in Dubai, along with the many man made islands they’ve built for oil and gas projects.

My main focus within MCS is developing the perfect CTV for future use. This includes using my knowledge and experience gained from 55 years in the maritime sector, along with the advancement in technologies now available. All to create a safe and comfortable vessel for the technicians to work on.

Can you talk about your fleet?

We currently have a total of 20 vessels and we are always looking to expand and renew our fleet. 11 of our vessels were built specifically for the offshore wind market and since this is a developing industry, for example the latest wind farms are being built further and further out to sea, we have to continually improve the seaworthiness of the vessels. Usually the technicians that we transport to wind farms are not seafarers so we have to factor this is in the design of the vessel.

Do you have any messages for the Turkish wind and maritime industry?

Yes, I do have a message. Türkiye already has a great boat building tradition and expertise, and with 6 Turkish built vessels we’ve owned we certainly wouldn’t hesitate to have further vessels built there. As Offshore wind progresses in Türkiye we hope we can be part of this and use our knowledge gained from 20 years working in this industry.