Marine firm in fleet expansion

An offshore support firm has made a major investment to add to its fleet as part of wider expansion moves that have seen it relocate to larger premises.

Aberdeen-headquartered Sentinel Marine has purchased a ship from a Canadian operator that will be launched into the North Sea with a dual role of supplying offshore platforms and providing emergency response and rescue services.

After upgrading work on the vessel, named the Scotian Sentinel, it will enter service next month.

Sentinel recently took delivery of another vessel, the Chinese-built Bailey Sentinel, which has led to the creation of 24 jobs providing rescue and recovery services for a major North Sea operator following sea trials.

Rory Deans, chief executive of Sentinel, said the vessel was the eighth of nine new builds that it is deploying in the North Sea with another planned for next year. He said the firm’s fleet is now the youngest operating in the sector.

“It is reckoned that over 30 per cent of emergency response and rescue vessels currently operating in the North Sea are at least 30 years old.

“Our new builds have an advantage over ageing vessels in that they are more efficient to operate,” he said.

The business now employs 350 people and growth in staff numbers has led to it recently relocating to larger premises at The Exchange on Market Street.

“The expansion of our team both on and offshore has been in tandem with the development of our fleet, and we had reached the point where we had simply outgrown our old offices. Our new premises provide us with three times the floor space.”

As well as recruiting experienced seamen, Deans said the company is investing heavily in staff development with eight cadets currently on its books.