Maxine McCreadie 

11 December 2020

Green Rebel Marine, a new business established to service the futureneeds of offshore wind farms, has announced plans to create 80 new jobs. Thecompany has also acquired Crosshaven Boatyard in County Cork. The nine acresite will serve as a base for the new operation to survey, equip and service anetwork of planned wind farms along the Irish coast. Crosshaven Boatyard willcontinue its normal operations as a Boat Yard.

Green Rebel Marine has been founded by Cork businessman Pearse Flynn. MrFlynn has invested €10 million of his own money into the project, including thepurchase of two specially equipped, high tech ships to service this nascentindustry.

The new jobs will be created in Crosshaven within the next 18 months.The first vessel – the Bibby Athena, which will be renamed to Roman Rebel – hasalready arrived into Cork. A second vessel is scheduled to arrive soon.

Plans for offshore wind farms are at an advanced stage with a number ofpotential fixed and floating operators examining sites along the coast fromDundalk in County Louth, to the Cork coast and beyond. Their construction willnot only increase Ireland’s ability to produce renewable energy, it will alsocreate an entire new sector dedicated to servicing their operation.

Mr Flynn hails from a fishing family in Ballycotton in County Cork. Hebelieves that Green Rebel Marine will eventually support hundreds of jobsaround the coast.  He said, “Ireland is on the verge of a greenrevolution that will deliver 5 gigwatts of energy from wind not generated onland, but far out to sea. Green Rebel Marine will work alongside the operatorsof this new array of wind turbines to ensure they remain operational by usingskilled mariners who are trained here. We have already hired some of theindustry’s leading scientists who will help conduct surveying in the monthsahead, and our team will remain involved in these projects until they areoperational and beyond. This is a new sector, and one that has incrediblepotential to deliver for our maritime community.”

Green Rebel Marine also has plans to develop a centre of excellence inCrosshaven to train and develop the staff required to meet the future needs ofthe floating wind farm industry.

Mr Flynn added, “The cost of constructing these offshore, floatingwind farms is coming down and there is a rush amongst operators to see who willbe first to market. Unlike the challenges posed by such projects on land, thesesea-based sites will be largely away from public view. Ireland has the potentialto become a net exporter of electricity within a decade, as opposed to relyingon imported fossil fuels. Green Rebel Marine marries the best of the Blue andGreen Economies. We will create and sustain Irish jobs and become a globalleader in this field.”

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