Farra Marine establishes its French subsidiary in Nantes
This Irish company has chosen Nantes for its establishment in France. Farra Marine was founded in 2020 in Ireland by Martin Rice and Jason Parker, two marine engineers who have spent their careers working at sea. “Farra Marine now operates a fleet of eight state-of-the-art CTVs (Crew Transfer Vessels), 27-meter vessels capable of accommodating up to 24 passengers. Six additional vessels are expected to be delivered by the end of Q1 2024, with the goal of reaching 40 vessels in Europe within the next five years. Farra Marine is ready to support its French clients in the development of offshore wind farms with the expertise we’ve built up in the European market,” state the two co-founders.
Close ties with the marine energy sector
The choice of Nantes for establishing its French office was a strategic decision for Farra Marine. “Several French clients from the offshore wind market are based in the Nantes and Saint-Nazaire region. Moreover, Nantes is less than four hours away from the first offshore wind farms built in France since 2022 (Saint-Nazaire, Saint-Brieuc, Fécamp, and Courseulles-sur-Mer), as well as from future projects in Normandy, Brittany, and Pays de la Loire,” explains Audrey Leconte, Head of Business Development Europe at Farra Marine. “In Nantes, I built strong connections with the industrial network Neopolia, which connected me with Nantes Saint-Nazaire Développement and the regional agency Solutions&Co. They supported us in setting up Farra Marine France and provided valuable services. We also appreciated the support from the Pays de la Loire Region. Since July 2022, we have been involved in the construction of the Banc de Guérande–Saint-Nazaire offshore wind farm. We are also operating one of our vessels for the construction of the Fécamp offshore wind farm until 2024,” she continues.
To recruit seafarers, they must be trained
With offshore wind projects in the UK, France, Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands, Farra Marine is experiencing rapid growth. “We now have 15 people on the management and support teams and about 55 crew members on board our vessels,” says Audrey Leconte. “The company will employ nearly 100 people by early next year. To meet our clients’ demands, we have an investment plan in place for the training and development of French crews. However, if we want to meet France’s offshore wind farm construction targets, we must urgently accelerate the training of French seafarers on CTVs. Currently, we provide this training ourselves, which can take several months or even years. Discussions are ongoing with regional authorities and the local offshore wind ecosystem to develop dedicated CTV crew training programs.”
