(PORT ANGELES, Wash.) — Platypus Marine has signed a letter of intent with Dutch shipbuilding group Damen Shipyards for the construction of a Jones Act-compliant fast crew supply vessel (FCS) to service the U.S. offshore wind industry.
The 88-foot vessel will be built on spec based on Damen’s FCS2710 design. Platypus plans to start building the vessel upon completion of the company’s new assembly building in Port Angeles in the fourth quarter of 2023 or first quarter 2024. Completion is scheduled for the first quarter of 2025.
The catamaran will feature Damen’s Sea Axe hull shape for enhanced seakeeping. It will be capable of carrying 24 technicians and have a top speed of 25 knots. The design was unveiled in 2018 and is in service with operators of crew transfer vessels in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Netherlands.
