Trinity House tender GALATEA

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The latest addition to the Trinity House fleet, the 3569 gt multi function tender GALATEA arrived in Harwich on Monday 23rd July 2007, one year after being launched at the Gdansk yard of Stocznia Remontowa.

The long fit-out time was due to the complexity of the vessels specification and exacerbated by skill shortages at the builders yard.



The vessel is the last of three that were ordered from the yard by the General Lighthouse Authority in a £38m deal with RBS subsidiary Williams and Glynn which owns the ships and leases them on a 25 year contract.



GALATEA is named after a sea nymph, a name previously used on Trinity House's most opulent steam yacht built in 1868, and replaces the 1987 built MERMAID, which has now been sold to Gardline of Great Yarmouth, for conversion to survey vessel.



GALATEA will be deployed providing navigational aids around the UK, undertaking maintenance work on buoys and light vessels, wreck location and marking, hydrographic surveys, towing and other projects.



The vessel breaks with usual Trinity House layout in having the working deck aft, with a forward helicopter deck, in line with the design of North Sea supply vessels. On the working deck there are 2 cranes; a 30 tonne Liebherr crane which can easily lift the largest 14 tonne navigation marks, and also a 4 tonne crane.




Her working area comprises 75% of its 84 m overall length, in contrast with PATRICIA whose working area is only 20% of it's length. The breadth is 16.5m with a design draft of 4.25m



A key feature is the Kongsberg dynamic positioning system that combines input from a gyro compass, wind guage, vertical reference sensor and three global positioning systems to allow the vessel to manoeuvre within 1 metre of accuracy in sea condtions up to force 6.

The paperless bridge incorporates the latest flat screen radars and ecdis navigation systems.


The engine room is fitted with five Wartsila engines: three main eight cylinder 8L20s and two four cylinder models providing power to two Rolls-Royce azimuthing units, and two bow thrusters.

The ships service speed is 12.5 knots.

Crew facilities include a gymnasium and mixed messing. There is an extensive accommodation deck, with a conference room for Trinity House Elder Bretheren, and potential passenger use in the future. She carries a crew of 16, compared with 23 on the MERMAID

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When THV MERMAID was released from service during the summer, she was acquired by Gardline of Great Yarmouth.

The company specialises in conducting seabed surveys for the oil and gas industry all over the world.

MERMAID was renamed OCEAN OBSERVER and after a few minor modifications, here she is in her new colours.

The photo was taken by Mick Warrick of Felixstowe, who has kindly allowed me to use it for this site.