Award-winning boat building company lands first contract in the Bristol Channel
October 30, 2019
Award-winning boat building company lands first contract in the Bristol Channel
Pilot boat operations within the Bristol Channel are set to include a new vessel from celebrated Norfolk boat-builder Goodchild Marine.
The Great-Yarmouth based company will construct an ORC 121 for Sedgemoor District Council, to be operated by the Port of Bridgwater across the Bristol Channel.
It will be the first time that the business has supplied an ORC vessel for a small port in the south-west of England.
The ORC 121 will follow the same design as Kingfisher, the recent boat built and released to ABP Lowestoft.
Flagship features include a beak-bow hull design with minimal drag, allowing it to reach speeds of up to 26 knots.
The higher transit speeds, even in challenging conditions, will allow the craft to increase the overall efficiency of the pilot services for the port, as well as promote fuel savings and carbon reductions.
Steve Pierce, General Manager for Goodchild Marine said: “Goodchild Marine ORC vessels have traditionally been maintained by north of England, East Anglian or southern England based companies, but this will be the debut for one of our ORCs in the south-west.
“We hope that our partnership and collaboration with Sedgemoor District Council, along with the reputation of our flagship ORC range will attract other similar ports in the area.”
Captain Jessica Tyson, Deputy Harbour Master for the Port of Bridgwater said: “Pilotage is extremely important at our port and challenging due to the large tidal rise and fall and the fact that our navigation channels continually move.
“Therefore we wanted a strong and enduring boat to stand the test of time and weather all conditions. We have closely followed the work of Goodchild Marine and were impressed by the capabilities of their ORC range, so it made perfect sense to invest in a product that we believe will tick all boxes.”
The boat is currently under construction at Goodchild Marine’s yard and is due to be delivered in the spring of 2020.
Media Caption: Produced and distributed on behalf of Goodchild Marine by TMS Media. For more information call Steve Pierce on 01493 782301, steve.pierce@goodchildmarine.co.uk or Louisa Lay, 01493 662929, louisa@tms-media.co.uk
Picture Caption: Kingfisher, ABP’s new Lowestoft boat, built by Goodchild Marine, is set to be replicated by the Great Yarmouth company for the Port of Bridgwater.