Siemens have commissioned a number of specialised pontoon berths for use by their fleet of ‘Windcat’ offshore windfarm service vessels. The Windcats berth bow on to twin vertical guides on the wind generators and the pontoons provide a similar berthing arrangement in the harbour (see www.windcatworkboats.com for photos and video of Windcats in action). The latest berth at Lowestoft uses an adaption of the innovative ‘Dockmaster’ pontoon system designed by Beckett Rankine for Marine Designs Ltd of the A&P group. The facility is based on two coupled pontoons to support a steelwork superstructure providing berthing slots for four Windcats. The area of the harbour where the berth is located is subject to significant swell and the pontoon is designed to provide easy ramped access from shore to ship irrespective of the tide level and swell conditions.

The Dockmaster pontoon system was originally developed for constructing superyacht berths but it is proving to be a versatile design; A&P’s next project is to use the pontoons for berthing 60m long Hunt class minesweepers.