Offering much more than simply floating hotels, C-bed is setting new trends in safety, comfort and efficiency. We talked to Flemming Hjorth about the company’s foresight and effort in this niche industry and discover how it is able to offer tailor-made solutions to clients based on the most extensive knowledge and experience available.
PES: How is your fleet suited to the requirements of your customers?
Flemming Hjorth: Our fleet is customised for our client’s needs and we do our utmost to meet all requirements they might have during a project. We are constantly improving our floating hotels with new benefits and facilities for improving the comfort and usability of operators through close dialogue with our clients. Any modifications can be done very quickly as C-bed is the direct owner of all three of our floating hotel vessels. Ultimately though, we provide more than a bed. It is a full-scale solution, with workshops, spare part stores, office facilities, etc. It’s what you might call a moving basecamp and it increases teamwork and ensures an efficient working environment.
PES: How long have wind projects been a part of the C-bed portfolio? Is it a sector that’s growing for you?
FH: C-bed entered the offshore wind business in 2008 with the rebuilding of the vessel ‘Wind Solution’ for the UK project Lynn & Inner Dowsing. Today, offshore wind is the main business area for C-bed and we expect to continue meeting the demand in the market for floating hotels. Generally speaking, the sector itself isn’t growing that much at the moment, but we at C-bed are growing and our penetration in the sector is getting ever-more focussed. For us, there is increasing demand from placing turbines further and further offshore. As this happens, we add make more value to a project through offering our services. Our concept is all about workers not having to go home at the end of the day – they can stay and get the work done.
PES: Can you explain how the process works with regards to initiating and carrying through a project? At what stage would you typically become involved?
FH: We are usually involved during the planning process, and for us and our clients, getting involved as early as possible involvement is always a big advantage. Our clients can be either the utilities or the developers of the wind projects, and we are called-upon during the installation and commissioning process (this is the time when most technicians are needed for a wind farm, obviously). The length of our contract is usually six to 12 months, although we do have longer contracts, which tend to be more beneficial for the utilities involved.
PES: We note that you’ve just achieved ISO and OHSAS certifications. What will this mean to you and your customers?
FH: Our HSEQ certificates verifiy our professional attitude to HS&E, which is a major factor in our business and is an area of increasing importance – not just for us, but for our clients, too. We strive to keep developing our competencies within this field and our clients have expressed satisfaction with this commitment.
PES: Do you find offshore technicians are becoming more discerning in this area? What additional comforts are particularly popular?
FH: Important facilities and benefits on board the floating hotels include fitness rooms and recreational facilities as private TV and movie on demand systems. Of course the food and drink are also an area of attention and we get very good feedback on our restaurant standards. As the industry has matured, clients have become more demanding and that’s only a good thing. It has allowed us to raise the bar for every project we’ve been involved in. This is especially true when it comes to Health and Safety – if a safer solution to a particular issue is found, it will be rolled out to the next project as a matter of course.
PES: Where is your prime geographic area of focus right now? Can you see the company exploring new territories in the coming years?
FH: We are currently mainly operating in the northern Europe and the UK and Germany in particular, where the main offshore wind farms are located. We expect to focus on the main areas of offshore wind in the future. And while we have three fully-operational vessels at present, we would be able to adapt to operating further afield and are looking at expanding our area of business to include oil & gas and construction markets, too. One consideration is that, from January 2015, there will be restrictions on the types of fuel you can work with in the Baltic Sea. This may or may not place restrictions on our operation, but we shall adapt.
PES: We’ve noted that there is a healthy amount of competition in this sector. What measures do you take to set yourselves apart?
FH: C-bed are constantly doing our very best to meet the increasing demands from clients with a specific focus on prompt reaction time. We are in close dialogue with clients and clients’ personnel on minor and major things that can improve the experience and the daily working situation. How did we get to be the number one supplier? By listening and reacting. We maintain close relationships and, because we own our own vessels and are able to react with agility, we can offer the best possible service.
PES: How important is on-board safety to you?
FH: Safety is the most important issue to C-bed. We focus on health and safety on a daily basis and are proud that we have prevented any major accidents so far.
PES: To what extent does the weather impact upon your service? Is it a consideration that your clients have to take into account?
FH: Although we hold approval for safe transfer at the highest possible sea state level, weather and waves in particular are natural limitations of the crew transfer operation. However, by utilising a floating hotel, which is situated close to the offshore wind farm it is possible to utilise shorter weather windows and thereby get more work done. This is especially true the further offshore you go. Our clients can typically get their workers on-site in 30 minutes, which is very efficient. If you have a four hour weather window, it makes no sense taking two hours to get there.
PES: Finally, what are your thoughts about the coming 12 months? Is 2015 looking as positive for you as 2014?
FH: Currently, we are seeing an increased demand from more of the major players in the offshore wind business and we expect this trend to continue as the projects move further and further offshore. And while I think we’ve said before that 2015 will be an ‘in-between’ year, we have a constant flow of work and contracts. 2016 is shaping-up to be very busy, too.
