Galloper contract awards provide boost for East coast companies
1 Mar, 2021
  • Galloper offshore wind farm made two significant contract awards
  • Lowestoft Crew Transfer Vessel company and Essex based landscaping firm
  • Six figure investment into UK supply chain and creation of new jobs

Galloper Wind Farm has provided a welcome boost to UK supply chain with the award of two new contracts to East coast based companies. Family owned Turner Iceni today commences Crew Transfer Vessel (CTV) operations at the wind farm, providing 24/7 support in the form of vessels and crew. And local Essex based business Marvan’s Tree & Landscaping Services has won a contract to provide landscaping services at the Wind Farm’s Operations & Maintenance facility at Harwich International Port.

Turner Iceni’s CTV division, of around 75 employees, is based from Lowestoft, Suffolk and Marvan’s have a team of twenty based from Ramsey in Essex. As a result of the contract award Turner Iceni have created three brand new full-time job roles to support the initial two-year contract.

Galloper Offshore Wind Farm is a 353MW project located 27km off the coast of Suffolk. RWE Renewables has led the development and construction of Galloper Offshore Wind Farm and its ongoing operation on behalf of the project partners.

Galloper General Manager, Guy Middleton said: “As a company we have many years of experience in the UK offshore wind industry, working hand in hand with the communities where our renewables projects are located. The development, construction and ongoing operation of projects such as Galloper bring significant benefits to the UK energy infrastructure and economy, helping to grow the local supply chain and create jobs.”

Turner Iceni company Director Richard Thurlow originally started out as a vessel skipper, before he and a partner built up a small fleet and started their own company, providing CTV support to wind farms.

Richard said: “For several years now we have been supporting RWE projects on the West coast and it is fantastic to now be deploying our fleet and expertise to support the Galloper project, so close to our Lowestoft base, on the East coast. This really is a win for UK content – our vessels are British designed and built, and as well as our team in Lowestoft, we’re supported from our HQ in Glasgow.”

Danny Marvan, Director of Marvan’s Tree & Landscaping Services said: “Whilst we’re a relatively small company, we’re ambitious and dedicated to growing our business. Winning our first contract working for the renewables sector is a great achievement. The majority of our employees are from Essex and similar to the team at Galloper Wind Farm, we also place a great emphasis on working with schools and undertaking STEM activities in the local area. These contracts really can create a positive ripple effect amongst the local communities they’re placed in.”

The estimated average annual generation at Galloper is the equivalent to the approximate domestic needs of more than 380,000 average UK households.1 In 2020 the wind farm achieved an outstanding performance in excess of 97% site availability, its best performing year to date, despite challenging work and weather conditions.

ENDS