Support for Wind Farm vessels

Ports of Jersey is providing registration and logistical support for a growing number of windfarm vessels, some of which are working on the St Brieuc Wind Farm.

Several supply ships and crew transfer vessels from the St Brieuc site use Jersey as a safe harbour for berthing and anchoring. Essential supplies for the wind farm, often shipped from Cherbourg, have found St Helier to be a useful drop-off, storage and transfer location.

Njord Offshore and Farra Marine, which operate the vessels Njord Alpha and Farra Grainne, have both decided to use Jersey as a temporary base for their vessels operating on the St Brieuc windfarm. Both have also chosen Jersey as the Flag State for their fleets.

Technical Director for Njord Offshore, Andrew Thwaites, said: “All our fleet is Jersey-registered and our vessel Njord Alpha worked from St Helier throughout summer 2023. We have found this to be a very straightforward experience, with excellent access to support from harbour master to fuel, supplies and maintenance. Jersey has also served as an excellent staging post for operations on French wind farms. We have developed strong working relationships and rely on quick turnarounds and robust, practical decision-making.”

Business Development Manager (Europe) for Farra Marine, Audrey Leconte, added: “We are delighted to use Saint Helier harbour as the base port for operating our crew transfer vessel on the St Brieuc offshore wind farm. We have registered most of our fleet under the Jersey flag and Farra Grainne has been operating in this area since November 2023, enjoying support when needed in logistics and port operations.”

Assistant Registrar of Shipping, Pierre Chays, said: “We are pleased to be able to offer practical and logistics support for shipping companies, their vessels and crew working on the St Brieuc Wind Farm. Ports of Jersey is proud to see a fleet of vessels contributing to this international operation using the Jersey Red Ensign.

“This is a tangible link between a large scale, neighbouring renewable energy construction programme and the Island of Jersey.”

Ships’ Registry

International law requires every ship to be registered before it can sail. The jurisdiction where it is registered is known as its flag state. As ships sail between countries, most can register in a different jurisdiction from the one they operate from, as long as they are eligible to register in that country. The registration then allows a ship to travel internationally.

Registering a ship in Jersey provides the protection afforded by the British Red Ensign and international recognition.