Crew Boat for Sale? Why a 35m Fast Passenger Ferry Works as an Offshore Crew Transfer Vessel

Crew transfer is a numbers business: how many people can you move to the field, how fast, in what sea state, and at what cost per seat. Purpose-built crew boats are expensive and scarce on the second-hand market, which is why oil and gas contractors and wind-farm service companies increasingly look at fast passenger ferries when they search for a crew boat for sale. A 35 m aluminium monohull with 28 knots of speed and enclosed seating for around 200 people is a very capable crew transfer vessel.

What offshore operators actually need

Speed to cut transit time and crew fatigue; enclosed, air-conditioned seating with luggage space; a safe boarding arrangement for platforms and jetties; deck space for tool bags and small stores; reliable communications and navigation; and a hull that keeps working in short, steep seas. A deep-V aluminium fast ferry designed for open-water passenger routes already has most of this.

Converting a passenger ferry for crew transfer

The usual changes are modest. Seat density is reduced and seats are re-arranged to give personnel room for bags and PPE. Part of the aft deck or foredeck is fitted with lashing points and a small crane or davit for stores. Boarding is adapted with additional fendering and a bow or side boarding platform depending on the platforms served. Communications are upgraded with the client’s radio fit, and a personnel-tracking system is added. Sea Keepers’ naval architects can design and complete this refit in Karachi before delivery.

Regulations and certification

Crew boats carrying industrial personnel are typically certified under the flag’s rules for offshore support or special-purpose vessels rather than as passenger ships, and charterers apply their own audits. Start from the vessel’s existing stability booklet and high speed craft pedigree, and involve the flag and the charterer’s marine assurance team early. A vessel with life-saving appliances for 220 persons has ample margin for a crew-transfer certificate of 60–120 personnel.

Where the demand is

In the Gulf, offshore fields off the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman run daily crew rotations within a few hours of port. In East Africa, gas developments off Tanzania and Mozambique need crew and service links. In West Africa, Nigeria, Ghana and Angola operate large crew-boat fleets from Lagos, Takoradi and Luanda. Each of these regions is within own-keel or heavy-lift delivery range of Karachi.

Cost comparison

A purpose-built newbuild crew boat of similar capacity will cost several times the price of a refitted second-hand fast ferry and take two years to deliver. The ferry route to a crew transfer vessel is faster, cheaper and, with a Caterpillar C32 propulsion package, easy to support in the field.

The 35.4 m fast ferry Sea Keepers has for sale in Karachi is available for inspection and sea trial with your marine assurance team, and we can quote the crew-transfer refit alongside the vessel.