Boats built for work
A Donegal-based business is now Ireland’s leading boatbuilder for aquaculture vessels.
Seabound Engineering Ltd, located on the harbour in Greencastle, Co. Donegal is a vastly growing boatbuilding company, with a client base extending throughout Ireland and the UK.
Seabound Engineering Ltd is now Ireland’s leading boat-builder of aluminium vessels for the aquaculture sector. Seabound Engineering is an SCMS-certified (Society of Consulting Marine Engineers) shipyard, ensuring all orders from the UK are built to SCMS shipyard standards as well as SCMS Certification.
On Friday 30 August, Seabound Engineering Ltd officially launched its newest vessel build, Lena Quinn, for the Donegal-based company, Mulroy Bay Mussels, owned by the Wilhare family. Mulroy Bay Mussels are sustainably farmed using continuous rope and biodegradable cotton. The seed is sourced naturally from spat in the bay with a growth cycle of 18 – 22 months. The vessel was designed by Atlantek Maritime.
Vessel specifications
Main Dimensions Length: 16.0 m (moulded): Width 6.8 m (moulded): Deck to Keel 1.8 (moulded).
The vessel is a twin hull double chined displacement catamaran fitted with an aft wheelhouse and powered by two off hydraulic thrusters. Wheelhouse and hull are fabricated from marine grade aluminium. The wheelhouse is positioned aft to maximise the working deck space and to suit cargo offloading arrangements in Mulroy Bay.
Each hull is divided into four watertight compartments, with the machinery space being located on the aft of the port hull. Around the sides of the hull a solid aluminium fender is provided all the way to two large rubber fenders at the bow.
The deckhouse accommodates a galley, a WC and the bridge. The bridge is raised to provide good visibility when cargo is loaded on the deck. Gross clear deck space forward of the wheelhouse is 84m2.
Four off davits are provided on the port side of the vessel for lifting mussel ropes on board and there is a sea crane on the starboard side.
The vessel is designed and built as a “P5” Passenger Boat. Structurally, the hull was designed to Lloyd’s Register Rules for the Classification of Special Service Craft “G3 Service Group 3”. “G3” means craft intended for service in waters where the range to refuge is 150 nautical miles or less.
The vessel is designed with a ballast system to enable the vessel to be lowered to a working height for harvesting mussels, which also creates further stability for deck cargo. Vessel propulsion is a 300hp Scania hydraulic powerpack, supplied by Hydro Armor, which drives twin hydraulic thrust units mounted port and starboard aft of the hulls, giving the vessel incredible manoeuvrability in deep and shallow waters.
From the completion of its first vessel build in March 2021, Seabound Engineering has since completed a further 23 builds ranging from 7-metre to 16-metre vessels, including Ireland’s largest aluminium catamaran and Ireland’s first amphibious vessel build. Each build is turnkey ready and built to the requirements for each customer.
Recently, Seabound Engineering received two major contracts for a 15-metre crew transfer vessel and a 24-metre mussel harvesting vessel for the UK.
For further information visit the Seabound Engineering page on Facebook or email seaboundengineering@gmail.com