Wallaby Boats delivers first vessel

Specialised vessels for technical personnel to be able to transfer to offshore facilities in rough seas – that was the aim of Wallaby Boats GmbH. Rappelling from a helicopter is expensive and difficult, and a transfer by ship fails if the swell is too high. However, the „Wallaby 18“ model can safely overcome waves up to 3 metres high thanks to a special suspension system. Like a catamaran, the 18-metre-long ship rests on two skids in the water. The upper platform is supported at the front and rear by a hydraulic system that equalises the swell. At the same time, it is more economical than previous transfer ships.

The development took nine years at the Kappeln-based companies Offcon and the spin-off Wallaby Boats. Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) and Schleswig-Holstein’s State Secretary for Economic Affairs Julia Carstens (CDU) were guests at the christening ceremony on 22 April 2024. „With the ‚Impulse‘, Wallaby Boats GmbH is proving as a start-up that young companies can bring innovative technologies to the market. I am particularly pleased that this new hull technology has been taken up in Schleswig-Holstein, implemented by Wallaby Boats and the Hitzler shipyard and realised with the help of a broad financial network in Schleswig-Holstein,“ said Carstens. The ship has already been sold to EnBW.

Since the founders of Wallaby Boats GmbH presented the project to Baltic Business Angels Schleswig-Holstein in October 2020, there have been many hurdles to overcome. With the help of Baltic Business Angel Achim Fölster, the team received approval for bank financing. Achim Fölster had invested in Wallaby Boats as part of a UG in February 2021. At the time, only the idea for the project existed. The UG investment was a prerequisite for the banks to finance the construction of the ship in July 2021. The next step was to find a shipyard with a medium-sized structure that had the confidence to take on this technically challenging project and could focus on the project. This was found with the Hitzler shipyard in Lauenburg.

However, the subsequent construction work proved to be extremely difficult and costly because the coronavirus pandemic meant that contractually agreed schedules could no longer be met and the cost of raw materials had multiplied due to the war in Ukraine, or raw materials were no longer available at all. This difficult phase could only be overcome with additional financial commitment from the shareholders and banks as well as a high level of personal management commitment from everyone involved. „This is a project that requires both wings of a business angel: Capital and personal commitment!“ emphasises Achim Fölster. The state of Schleswig-Holstein and WTSH GmbH have also invested in the project.

The final tests are currently being carried out and EnBW expects to put the boat into operation in mid-May as the world’s first SECTV (Suspension Equipped Crew Transfer Vessel) for wind farms in the Baltic Sea. Wallaby Boats GmbH expects that, following successful testing, EnBW and other international offshore wind farm operators, salmon farms, pilot transfer boat operators, etc. will be interested in the boats. The company expects EnBW and other international offshore wind farm operators, salmon farms, pilot transfer boat operators, etc. to show interest in the boats – four different models are planned.