Northumberland-based Osbit Ltd, an offshore engineering and technology company, has secured its first order from China for a crew-transfer ‘walk-to-work’ access system (www.osbit.com).

The MaXccess T12 system will be installed on a 20m vessel that is currently being built at the Aurora Yachts shipyard in Dalian for the State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) — one of China’s top-five power suppliers — and its Binhai wind-farm project.

The MaXccess T12 can operate in 2m wave-height conditions, giving engineers safe access to the offshore wind turbines.

This follows on from Osbit’s previous activity in South East Asia’s off-shore renewables market, which includes the deployment of one of its T18 MaXccess systems at the Fukushima offshore wind farm in Japan, where it has been operating for the past three years.

Sales and marketing manager Ben Webster said: “China and South East Asia are experiencing a growth in offshore renewables activity. This project is an important step for Osbit, as we build on our track record for the delivery of innovative and reliable access systems for the international offshore wind sector.”