Williams Shipping Begins Turbine Blade Contract for MHI Vestas

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Williams Shipping is pleased to have started working on a contract to transport 82m offshore wind turbine blades for Isle of Wight-based wind energy specialists MHI Vestas.

Turbine production in the UK

MHI Vestas is a joint venture between Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Vestas Wind Systems. Their V164 offshore wind turbines are amongst the world’s most powerful, with a nameplate capacity of up to 9.5 megawatts. Blades have been manufactured at their facility on the Isle of Wight since 2015, with serial production commencing in 2017. The facility is expected to produce around 150 blades per year.

In 2017 MHI Vestas announced plans to re-purpose part of a decommissioned power plant in Fawley, near Southampton, into a state-of-the-art painting and logistics facility for the blades.

Handling oversized loads

The turbine blade transportation vessel - Blade Runner Two.

The turbine blade transportation vessel – Blade Runner Two.

Moving and handling these immense items presents some unique challenges. At 82m long the blades cannot be transported by road and are instead transported by barge, from the Isle of Wight, to the painting facility, and then on to international docks for shipping overseas.

To carry out this task, a special design of blade transport barge was created. Self-powered, these 76m barges are designed to work in the shallow waters around the Solent, with an unloaded draught of 0.65m and a loaded draft of just 0.75m.

As well as managing operation of the vessels, Williams will also be managing the stevedoring with cranes installed at local sites on the Isle of Wight, Fawley and Portsmouth Docks.

Winning the contract

As well as general marine expertise, Williams has significant experience with offshore and coastal energy companies, including wind energy. It was invited to tender for the contract in late 2017 and the contract was awarded early in 2018. The blade transport barge was delivered to Williams’ marine base at Southampton Dock Gate 4 in early April. Williams has also positioned cranes and site offices at each site to manage the stevedoring.

An historic return

For Williams, the project also has a more personal element. When the company was founded in 1894 it provided small-scale shipping services to the south coast and Isle of Wight from its base in Fawley. Williams is still a family-run business, with its directors a mix of fourth and fifth generation descendants of the original owner George Williams. However it relocated to Southampton in the early 20th century.

Philip Williams, Director of Marine at Williams Shipping commented,

“We’re really pleased to get started on this contract. We have spent some time getting all the equipment and people set up and the arrival of the blade barges was the final stage. MHI Vestas’ ongoing investment has been great for the area and we are glad we can play a part in building the wind energy industry on the south coast.”

Vestas V164 turbines are used in a number of offshore wind farms around the world including Burbo Bank, off the coast of Liverpool. The blade running contract runs for two years initially, but is expected to be ongoing.

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  • I just wanted to say thank you – it was a very challenging site to work at and make delivery to. Your drivers showed courtesy, patience and professionalism throughout the day

    Philip Kingston,
    Kingston Building Solutions

  • Thank you for your assistance, it was very much appreciated and a special thank you to Bob who did a fantastic job.

    Jenny Wilkinson,
    Interserve Defence Ltd

  • We are very happy with the service provided by your company, especially the driver and we will be using your company for any future work.

    Bob Sarkar,
    National Gritting Service

  • I would like to personally thank you, as a company, and every one of your drivers for their professional approach to the deliveries to our site, all of your drivers have been absolutely fantastic.

    Andy Jenner,
    EP Renewable Energies Limited

  • On Behalf of the Environment Agency and the Residents of Romsey and Winchester, I would like to convey our warmest gratitude for the support you provided during recent flooding. Without you we would not have been able to respond as quickly or effectively as we did.

    James A Humphrys,
    Environment Agency

  • We would like to thank yourself and your team at Williams Shipping for all your help last week, your team were great at getting us around and in position where and when we needed to be in spite of some rotten weather.

    Cliff Stonestreet,
    Fully Fused Fireworks Worldwide Event Management

  • Thank you very much for your assistance and I have to say the two crew members on the vessel could not have been more helpful.

    Steve Beck,
    Burgess Marine

  • May I take this opportunity to thank you for an excellent service, could you also please pass on my thanks to all of your skippers who have helped us over the past few weeks.

    Gwyn Goforth,
    Svitzer UK