Maritime Services and Coast (MDK) is looking for interested shipyards to build the successor to the ‘Pilot Boat 7’. The vessel will serve as a pilot tender and replacement pilot station. MDK also immediately announced its intention to eventually replace the three tenderswaths in service.
After the placement procedure, the order for the construction of the new vessel now enters the next phase. VLOOT, part of MDK, launched an order to interested shipyards interested in building the new pilot boat. VLOOT is doing so using a two-step procedure. The selection guideline was published in late January from which applications must follow. The deadline for submission is 19 March 2023.
Thereafter, the nominations will be assessed and potential candidates chosen. In the second phase, the chosen candidates will receive the specifications on which they have to base their bids. The submission of bids of the second phase is to follow in autumn 2024. The tenders will then be assessed, after which the award proposal will be submitted to the Flemish government.
Sister ship
Within the published contract, a sister ship, of the same type, is also requested. This offers great advantages towards interchangeability of future vessels. The sister ship will only be ordered after the first vessel has passed a certain trial period. There is no concrete timing for that second vessel yet. A proposal will be submitted to the next Flemish government to release the necessary budget for this.
New tenderswaths
In the framework of the greening and renewal strategy of VLOOT and, by extension, that of the MDK agency, the replacement of the current three tenderswaths (Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull) – the ‘Wielingen’, the ‘Westdiep’ and the ‘Westerschelde’ – will also be considered. A separate public procurement procedure will of course be placed in the market for the construction of those vessels and that too, of course, subject to approval by the Flemish government.
‘Walker’
The first new vessel within the current contract can provide pilotage transport between Vlissingen and the Wandelaar pilot station and will alternate with the mother ship ‘Wandelaar’ as a pilot station off the Flemish coast, among other things in the event of planned maintenance, bunker moments or technical failure of the ‘Wandelaar’. Once the vessel has proven its service and any teething problems have been addressed, the new vessel will be able to take over the current tasks of the ‘Wandelaar’ in their entirety.
The new vessel will be compatible with the current houseboats and tenderswaths. The replacement of the existing vessels is part of the rejuvenation and at the same time greening of the pilotage resources and is hugely important for continuity of service for the entire nautical chain. Investing in the entire North Sea pilotage fleet is therefore one of MDK’s top priorities in the coming years, for which additional investment credits are indispensable.
