Goodchild Marine Services Limited win £9m contract

A Fleet of nine state of the art pilot boats have been ordered by Associated British Ports, representing an investment to further enhance port operations across their network. The faster and more fuel-efficient vessels will be constructed by us and I will be delivered over the next four years. Construction of the first vessel has already begun and is expected to be delivered to ABP’s Humber team in 2021. In total ABP has commissioned five vessels to serve in its Humber ports, three for Southampton and one for Barry in South Wales.

Mike McCartain OBE ABP’s to Group Director for Safety Marine and Engineering said, “It is fantastic that we have been able to award this contract to a UK manufacturer who is at the leading edge of pilot boat technology, this will also help support existing local jobs and the regional economy, which is great used given the current economic conditions. The state-of-the-art vessels will improve the efficiency of the port operations and will ensure that we can continue to service our customer’s needs to a very high standard”.

 ABP and Goodchild Marine Services have a long history of productive collaboration. In July 2019 we delivered the first ORC-121 Kingfisher, which has been supporting operations at the port of Lowestoft. Our first pilot boat for ABP, Osprey was more than 25 years ago.

Stephen Pierce General Manager, at Goodchild Marine Services said, “We are delighted to have been awarded this prestigious contact with one of the UK’s leading operators, Associated British Ports and they have demonstrated commitment to the quality of British manufacturing and our supply chain for the next generation of their pilot boats.”