Offshore wind kudos for DuroWipers

A British crew transfer vessel operator has kitted out its latest CTV with DuroWiper pantographs commercial marine windscreen wipers in order to benefit from their ease of installation and reduced maintenance.

Manor Renewable Energy Ltd took delivery of the Manor Endurance offshore support vessel in September and since then its six Class 90 pantograph units (three front and three rear) have been put to the test at Scottish Power’s East Anglia ONE offshore windfarm.

“Our unique selling point as a CTV operator is that we provide accommodation for the crew 24/7 on the windfarm without the need for a mothership,” said Michael James, Marine Superintendent at Manor Renewable Energy Ltd.

“So every part of the vessel, including the equipment, has to stand up to being based offshore. We have had no problems with the DuroWiper pantographs. They were the right product for us, we could mount them externally, there is a washer system integrated into the arm and they are easy to install. They ticked all the right boxes.”

Lessons learnt

Mr James explained that they had learnt lessons from the build of Manor Endurance’s sister vessel, Manor Venture, back in 2017.

Both vessels were built over a year at the Manor Marine shipyard in Portland, Dorset. They both embrace the use of cutting-edge technology, whilst maximising crew accommodation, deck space and cargo carrying capacity. But they have been kitted out differently. This, according to Mr James, is because valuable lessons were learned from the build and kit out of the first vessel, including what was required from the wiper systems.

“The Manor Venture has internally fitted wiper systems which meant that we had to fabricate hosing inside the vessel to contain the systems which involved a lot of time and effort. The wiper systems had no integral wash system and we have had to replace the wiper panels more than once since installation,” he said. “DuroWiper pantographs on the new vessel have solved these issues.”

With the East Anglia ONE contract now coming to an end, Manor Endurance will head off to work at another windfarm project in early 2021.

Solid reputation

Manor Renewable Energy Ltd has some new builds coming up in 2021/22 and Mr James said that DuroWiper pantographs would definitely be considered for future use. This is provided that they perform well at Manor Endurance’s service next year.

DuroWipers offers extended and lifetime warranties for its wiper systems which both the RNLI and the UK Royal Navy have previously taken advantage of. The Class 90 utilises the 80Nm Bosch motor with a considerably smaller transfer box than the Class 80, for applications where space is limited.

DuroWipers has an impressive client list. The company is probably best known for equipping all RNLI Shannon lifeboats since 2012.