The General Lighthouse Authorities (GLAs) of the UK and Ireland have announced a £13 million, seven-year contract to PDG Helicopters for the provision of helicopter services to cover all three authorities.

Until now, each authority had contracted its own helicopter service provider. The provision of a single helicopter supplier across the GLAs is expected to deliver cost savings of £7.9 million to the General Lighthouse Fund, which pays for the safety critical work of the GLAs to provide reliable, efficient and cost-effective maritime aids to navigation services around the UK and Irish coast.

Helicopters have been contracted by the GLAs since the 1970s for the transportation of personnel to remote and difficult to access sites and for specialised operations to transport materials to and from their support vessels and lighthouses.

PDG will deploy two Eurocopter EC135s to fulfill the contract requirements. Headquartered in Scotland, PDG has operating bases across the UK and Ireland, from which it flies over 11,000 hours a year supporting a wide range of onshore and offshore markets. The latest contract has an extension option of up to three years and will commence in December 2015.

PDG ceo Jerry Francis comments: “We are delighted to be awarded the GLA helicopter service contract and are proud to be supporting them in the delivery of their statutory duty for the safety of the mariner.

“The award of this contract is a natural progression from working exclusively with the commissioners of Irish Lights and we look forward to extending this vital service across the entire UK and Ireland. This contract is fulfilled by PDG subsidiary Irish Helicopters.”