Forum Subsea Rentals, a subsidiary of Forum Energy Technologies, Inc., has further strengthened its global offering of state-of-the-art rental equipment by placing a multi-million dollar equipment order with subsea technology provider, Sonardyne International Ltd.

This order demonstrates Forum’s commitment to long-term growth and continued investment in new equipment to ensure customers are offered the latest, cost-effective rental solutions coupled with assurance of reduced downtime by utilising new assets.

Some of the equipment ordered will deployed within Forum’s global rental pool, however the majority is committed to secured field development projects in West Africa and North Africa.

Included in the order are multiple Ranger 2 GyroUSBL acoustic positioning systems which combine Sonardyne’s 6G acoustic positioning transceiver technology and a Lodestar AHRS sensor in the same mechanical assembly. These systems are ideally suited for quick deployments on vessels of opportunity as without need for a USBL calibration to determine the alignment of the ship’s motion sensors to the acoustic transceiver, they provide significant saving in vessel time and operational costs.

Richard Main, Operations and Global Asset Manager for Forum Subsea Rentals, said: “Our continued investment in new products is essential to ensure the long term reliability and dependability of the Forum Subsea Rentals global fleet. Even given the downturn in the industry, demand for Sonardyne 6G equipment remains high and this further investment in the technology will ensure that we are well placed to meet our customers’ requirements and position us well when the market recovers.”

Alan MacDonald, Sales Manager for Sonardyne, commented: “Forum Subsea Rentals has long been a rental supplier of Sonardyne equipment and we’re delighted with the continued demand for 6G to support important field development projects. This latest investment demonstrates continued commitment to providing its customers with the best available and lowest risk subsea technology for all their survey and construction campaigns.”

Radoil announces that their MUX and Hotline Reels were used on Maersk Venturer ultra-deepwater drillship offshore Uruguay in water depths of 3,400 meters (11,156 ft). The previous record for world’s deepest well by water depth was held by Transocean’s drillship Dhirubhai Deepwater KG1, off the coast of India in water depths of 3,174 m (10,411 ft), also utilizing Radoil reels. MUX and Hotline Reels are installed on the rig near the rig’s moon-pool. MUX Reels store and deploy electric and fiber optic cables and Hotline Reels store and deploy hydraulic hoses. The electric/fiber optic cables and hydraulic hoses communicate and operate the Blowout Preventer (BOP) System positioned on the ocean floor during deepwater drilling.

Maersk Venturer: Photo credit: Maersk Drilling

Radoil’s Umbilical reels (BOP Control, IWOCS, Chemical Injection, Workover) offer at least six (6) patented and patent pending features that Lower Operating Costs and Improve Safety. In addition, Radoil’s patented Depth Compensated Accumulators use the pressure of the ocean’s water column to boost the hydraulic pressure, thereby allowing fewer number of accumulator bottles mounted in the BOP and subsea systems requiring local hydraulic pressure. In some cases, the number of accumulator bottles can be reduced by over 90%.

Radoil is an ISO 9001:2008 certified engineering, design and manufacturing company located on the NW side of Houston, TX. Radoil provides a variety of products that are used in deepwater drilling activities around the world and we are currently expanding our product lines into the completion and production processes.

Casing and completion tools specialist Deep Casing Tools has expanded into the Kazakhstan market with its reaming and unique drillable turbine technology.

The company’s 7” Turbocaser Express™ high-speed reaming system was deployed recently in the Chinarevskoye field where the client had experienced previous casing running issues. The casing reached total depth on first attempt and, following a typical cement program, the Turbocaser Express™ was successfully drilled out with a polycrystalline diamond compact bit on a rotary steerable assembly and next section drilled in one run.

Deep Casing Tools’ technologies provide significant time and cost savings. With the ability to ream while running in, the casing can be run sooner while the hole is in best condition, eliminating wiper trips and open hole exposure time.

The company’s expansion into Kazakhstan has been supported by Oil Tools Services, a Kazakh company based in Aktobe city with a wide established client base. Oil Tools Services established the demand for Deep Casing Tools products in the region by performing market research and identifying several applications where clients had suffered significant non-productive time running tubulars attributed to wellbore instability.

Alan Phillips, Vice President Sales of Deep Casing Tools, said: “Our entry into Kazakhstan is great news for both Deep Casing Tools and Oil Tools Services and is in line with our global expansion strategy. Despite the downturn we are well placed to succeed in this market as our technology saves clients flat time and reduces overall well costs. We look forward to further expansion into Kazakhstan and neighboring territories”

A spokesman for Oil Tools Services Management said: “We are proud to be part of this success alongside Deep Casing Tools. This is the first round of benchmark testing for running production casing with the Turbocaser Express™ versus conventional casing running methods in this region. A professional commitment from the team led to the client’s success by generating value through the application of innovative products and service”

Additional business expansion for Deep Casing Tools includes a record order book in Russia and a first Turbocaser Express™ deployment offshore Netherlands.

Decom North Sea (DNS), the representative body for the offshore decommissioning industry, which promotes and facilitates collaboration and cost reduction, has today announced the appointment of a new chief executive.

Roger Esson brings over 20 years’ highly relevant experience as DNS continues to play a critical part in the development of the UK decommissioning sector. Having held a variety of leadership positions within companies ranging from SMEs to tier 1 contactors, his previous roles have included time with Stork Technical Services and Amec Foster Wheeler’s decommissioning division.

Roger Esson, chief executive, Decom North Sea

He has played an active role in the execution of several of the UK’s most significant decommissioning projects - including the MCP01, North West Hutton and Brent Delta installations - and is widely recognised for his stewardship of the oil and gas sector, not least through his participation on a number of industry boards and forums.

Commenting on the appointment, DNS chairman Callum Falconer said: “We are exceptionally pleased to welcome Roger to this position. Decom North Sea has no doubt that his combination of knowledge and experience will prove invaluable in addressing the challenges inherent in this fledgling industry - ensuring that our members, as well as those in the wider oil and gas industry and beyond, have the ability to grasp the opportunities within decommissioning.

“On behalf of Decom North Sea, sincere thanks go to interim chief executive, Karen Seath, and the wider operational team for the work they have undertaken during the past six months. They have successfully built upon our key objective to deliver value to our members, whilst working collaboratively with our strategic partners to ensure that an effective and sustainable supply chain addresses the requirements of this emerging sector.”

Roger Esson added: “I am delighted to join Decom North Sea and look forward to applying my knowledge and experience to the role. This is a challenging time for the North Sea industry and it is vital that we focus upon helping our members understand and prepare for the opportunities that are available.

“For example, DNS has long recognised the critical effect late life asset management has upon the success of the decommissioning process - as well as the vast number of opportunities it presents. With our members’ requirements firmly at the forefront of our minds, DNS has created the Late Life Planning Portal (L2P2), a trailblazing toolkit designed to encourage the all-important sharing of knowledge and the opportunities available within this phase.”

Global-leading energy services company Proserv has been awarded a multi-million dollar contract from Apache Corporation for work on the UK Continental Shelf.

Proserv will supply a subsea control system and associated topside and subsea interface equipment for use on the new Callater wells located south of the Beryl Alpha platform.

The latest award comes after Proserv successfully completed work for Apache on the Bacchus and Aviat extension wells for the provision of subsea control modules and services in the Forties field.

Proserv engineer at work. Photo credit: Proserv

The design, manufacture and supply of the workscope will be carried out by Proserv’s team of subsea experts in Great Yarmouth, UK.

David Lamont, CEO of Proserv, said: “This is a significant win for the company that highlights the strength of our technical and engineering expertise as well as our market-leading status in the subsea controls and communications field.

“It also reinforces that there are still major opportunities in a low oil price marketplace to provide truly smarter solutions that challenge convention and reduce operating costs, extend field-life and maximize ultimate recovery. This is where Proserv uniquely delivers”.

Formerly known as Prospect K, the Apache Callater wells are situated 335 kilometers northeast of Aberdeen. Proserv will deliver four subsea control modules with standard interfaces to provide compatible support for earlier generations of subsea controls equipment and enable future link-ups with other existing field assets in the surrounding area. This will provide Apache with a truly flexible solution to seamlessly extend field life in the future without affecting the existing subsea control systems.

This latest deal builds on a successful period for Proserv, the company revealed in April that is had secured a multi-million dollar contract with Statoil for the provision of production control equipment in Norway.

Proserv is set to supply five wellhead hydraulic power units (HPUs) for Statoil’s Gullfaks oil and gas field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. Design, manufacture and supply will be carried out by Proserv’s specialist engineering and project teams in Stavanger, Norway.

More than 140km of pipeline manufactured at Tata Steel’s recently enhanced double submerged arc welded (DSAW) mill has achieved an industry first by becoming the deepest to be laid in the Mexican section of the Gulf of Mexico.

The company was awarded a contract to supply 457mm OD x 28.6mm WT API 5L PSL2 X65MO line pipe from its large diameter 42” DSAW mill in Hartlepool, UK, for the development.

The project marked the first time that a pipeline had been laid at water depths greater than 3,000ft in the Mexican section of the Gulf.

Photo credit: Tata Steel

Tata Steel was selected for the project due to its extensive experience in the manufacture of small diameter and thick wall deepwater line pipe.

The mill has been the focus of significant recent investment to enhance technology and processes and increase power efficiency. More than 125 improvements were completed in 2015 to strengthen its overall operational and performance capability.

The improvements include significant upgrades to welding equipment using the latest closed loop digital weld control technology to deliver greater weld stability, reduced repair rates, and total traceability of the process. Tata Steel has also invested in a laser profiling system to provide a 3,600 point profile to monitor pipe straightness and provide a full dimensional survey of the pipe end. This data can be used to ensure minimum ‘hi/low’ in girth welding for high fatigue and other applications.

Energy efficient inverters have replaced more than 50 traditional transformers/rectifiers on production lines to enable quick and repeatable set ups at industry-leading levels while cutting the mill’s electricity demand by nearly a third, allowing Tata Steel to produce more pipe with less energy.

The mill’s ‘O’ press control has been upgraded to optimise the forming process, ensuring uniform pressing along the full length of pipes to achieve optimum pipe shape. This has benefits for deepwater operations, as both the shape and balancing of the ‘forming ratio’ of the pipe are critical for deepwater collapse resistance.

Richard Broughton, Commercial Manager, Energy and Power, Tata Steel, said: “Our investment in the DSAW mill and our continuous improvement discipline enables us to offer extremely high integrity solutions to our clients for the most challenging of offshore and onshore projects.

“The overall benefit of the investments can be seen in the welding quality performance achieved during the project in the Gulf of Mexico. Where small diameter and thick wall pipe is typically more challenging, on this project a combined repair rate of 0.25% was achieved. This was delivered not only due to the investment in welding technology, but also through a programme of continuous improvements in the welding area which has seen similar developments across many sizes of pipe.

“The manufacture also demonstrated a more sustainable approach to production, with reduced energy utilisation through the deployment of digital welding control. Our new inverter based power sources have significantly improved welding machine availability and have resulted in an increase in power efficiency from 60% to 95%.”

On Thursday, April 28, at a special reception for clients and business partners, Next Generation Marine announced the opening of its global headquarters in the New Orleans Metropolitan area in May. The new headquarters will serve as a central hub for Next Generation's thriving marine operations. In addition, the marine start-up celebrated the christening of two of its newest vessels at the Port of New Orleans Thursday night. 



"The marine industry is booming in the metro area and we are confident that our business will thrive here," said Captain Eddie Compass, IV, CEO of Next Generation Marine. "Contributing to the marine industry here in New Orleans is something I've always dreamed about, and now we have the opportunity to do it." 

Next Generation Marine is one of only two African-American owned marine transportation companies in the country to own and operate its fleet of vessels. Next Generation Marine was founded in 2015 by Eddie Compass, IV, and Julien Chouest, II.

"The marine and maritime industry is such a vital part of Louisiana's economy, and like most industries, it has been vastly under represented by people of color," said Congressman Cedric Richmond. 

Compass, a New Orleans Native, has more than 10 years working in the marine and maritime industry. He has traveled around the world logging time in Chile, Lima Peru, Ireland Angola, and Trinidad to name a few.

Compass earned his Bachelor of Science in Marine Transportation from the Maritime Academy Texas A&M University. 

The company expects to hire an additional 60 employees by May 2017. This will bring the total employees from 40 to nearly 100. Salaries range from $60,000 for deckhands to six figure salaries for captains. 



Xodus Group’s Intelligent Monitoring service is being used by Australian oil and gas company Woodside to create surveillance tools for its North West Shelf assets.

Accurate monitoring of oil and gas production is an increasingly valuable tool for operators and surveillance engineers but, until now, visibility of data has been almost exclusively available to on-site operators. For those involved in remote surveillance and decision support, the ability to visualize data and interpret an asset’s performance in real-time has been a significant hurdle.

The Woodside–operated North Rankin Complex, W.A. Image credit: Woodside Energy Ltd.

Xodus is forging a path in Intelligent Monitoring which makes information from the asset’s data historian available to engineering and management teams by creating interactive visualization tools. Information from the asset is not only displayed in real-time, it can also be used to calculate new data not recorded in the historian.

This can then be visualized even where no physical instrumentation exists, for instance via the creation of virtual meters for a process stream without instrumentation, or where a meter already exists but requires a metric for drift in calibration.

Michael Putrino, Intelligent Monitoring Lead at Xodus in Perth, explains: " Woodside’s North West Shelf offshore assets, the North Rankin Complex and Goodwyn Alpha, now employ a start-up sequence visualization tool created by our team of experts. It monitors systems coming online during a restart and displays key start-up status indicators from around the process and utilities systems. Crucially, it allows the surveillance team to monitor the asset start-up sequences proactively. Information can also be calculated from the monitoring sequence that determines how much downtime is associated with a particular activity, enabling it to be logged for further investigation."

Xodus has also created powerful compressor and other process parameter monitoring dashboards for Woodside’s North Rankin Complex. The customized dashboards consolidate average operating values across a 24 and 48 hour period to indicate how the asset’s equipment has been operating relative to the integrity envelope. This provides surveillance engineers with a means to assess any excursions towards alarm limits and take preventative action for future excursions. With access to the asset's data historian and the facility's production and design documentation, Xodus creates a raft of intelligent calculations to monitor critical equipment. This includes: triethylene glycol (TEG) column performance, pump performance, operating and integrity envelopes, alarm and trip history, and heat exchanger performance and fouling.

Xodus’ engineering expertise is the result of extensive design and operations support in the oil and gas industry. This in-depth experience has enabled the company to extend its know-how into intelligent solutions for monitoring facility performance.

MacGregor, part of Cargotec, continues to add to its market-leading Pusnes product range and its latest introduction is a Pusnes RamWindlass. The new windlass is based on a chain-jack design and employs similar technology used in MacGregor's successful range of Pusnes RamWinches.

MacGregor's new Pusnes RamWindlass meets market demand for ever more compact deck machinery arrangements

"The Pusnes RamWinch is well known in the industry for its compact size and low weight. It can be found on most of the spar platforms in the Gulf of Mexico and also on several other types of floating production units," says Torbjörn Rokstad, Director, MacGregor Pusnes Mooring Systems. "However, over recent years, market demand has seen the need for an even more compact, chain-jack type design, resulting in the development of our new RamWindlass."

Current RamWinch designs have a main cylinder that extends below the winch foundation plates to exert the stroke or 'jacking' movement and each stroke moves the chain two links at a time. The Pusnes RamWindlass features some significant advances over current RamWinch designs. For example, it locks the chain on every chain link, instead of every second link. Locking one link at a time translates into a shorter stroke for the ram, which therefore requires less space. Also jacking occurs on the cable lifter, not on the chain.

"Space is at a premium on floating production units and with the new RamWindlass operators will benefit from an even more compact design, which requires less height clearance in the mooring arrangement," continues Mr Rokstad.

The Pusnes RamWindlass has an all-in-one foundation requiring no deck penetration and its simple design leads to low maintenance requirements and high levels of reliability.

"Our extensive knowledge and experience of operating Pusnes RamWinches has been an essential part of the design process for the new RamWindlass," adds Mr. Rokstad. "All in all there is great market potential for it."

International energy logistics provider Peterson has secured a long term logistics contract with oil and gas operator TAQA. The five year contract is for integrated supply base and logistics operations supporting TAQA’s offshore assets in the UK North Sea - Harding, Tern, Eider, North Cormorant and Cormorant Alpha.

The contract scope includes the provision of quayside services, warehouse management, cargo carrying units, transport, fuel and marine services and includes an option for two additional, one year extensions.

Peterson will be responsible for managing 55,000 deck tonnes and supplying 50,000 tonnes of fuel annually and will support TAQA from quayside and warehouse facilities in Aberdeen and Kintore.

Chris Coull, Regional Director Peterson said: “This long term contract enables us to deliver sustainable cost saving concepts and systems, whilst ensuring a focus on safe and efficient operations. Peterson is an industry leader in vessel pooling and marine sharing and we look forward to sharing our knowledge and experience in this area with TAQA.

“Peterson will work closely with TAQA to understand their needs and bring new ways of working supported by our proprietary suite of multi-user digital applications including our industry leading cargo management system eCargo and real time inventory and asset tracking through VOR.”

Peterson is working closely with customers to drive efficiencies and generate maximum value across their logistics operations. Last month the company was recognised for its unparalleled record in collaborative vessel sharing arrangements at the SPE Offshore Achievement Awards, winning the award for collaboration.

An ambition to provide even better service to MacArtney’s customers in the Asian Pacific market has resulted in a relocation of MacArtney Singapore to bigger and more spacious environments and in the set-up of a new local office in China.

Following a successful presence during the past couple of years in the maritime Southeast Asia, MacArtney Singapore have via their new premises put themselves in a more favourable position to deal with more jobs at a time and to carry out higher-quality service to their customers in the Asian Pacific markets.

New premises MacArtney Singapore, Asia Pacific Operations

Office, workshop and warehouse facilities

The new premises of MacArtney Singapore include in addition to their dedicated sales office various warehouse and workshop facilities, viz. a fibre optic workshop as well as a dedicated slip-ring repair workshop and a moulding workshop.

As part of the MacArtney Underwater Technology Group, MacArtney Singapore provides direct local access to the entire MacArtney portfolio of products and system solutions - backed by global service, support and know-how for any underwater technology requirement from individual connectors to complete launch and recovery systems. This resulting in efficient service and prompt delivery to underwater technology customers in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Brunei, Indonesia, the Philippines and China.

Local office in China

More and more countries in Asia are investigating into ocean science, especially China. With more research vessels being built, there is an increased demand in oceanographic equipment and launch and recovery systems.

Provision of superior service to MacArtney’s customers in the Chinese market is the paramount incentive behind setting up a new MacArtney office conveniently located in ZhuHai and allowing for easy access to most customers in Guangzhou, the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in South China.

We see a need for MacArtney to be physically present in such a competitive region. Our presence in China will enable us to be closer to our customers, and we will be able to support both customers and distributors, says Steen Frejo, Managing Director of MacArtney’s Asia Pacific Operations.

In consequence of having established a branch office in Zhuhai, MacArtney Singapore have engaged a new System Sales Manager, Mr. Steven Yang, who has many years of experience in the ocean science industry. Mr. Yang’s primary job is to attend to the comprehensive task of servicing the Chinese market.

DeepOcean AS, a subsidiary of DeepOcean Group Holding BV (DeepOcean), has announced that the company has been awarded a contract for provision of Engineering, Procurement, Removal and Disposal (EPRD) of Varg Subsea facilities by Repsol Norge AS.

The scope of work cover subsea pre-decom survey, recovery of FPSO mooring lines, anchor piles, risers, midwater-arch buoy and subsea structures as well as onshore disposal and recycling of the recovered items.

The Edda Freya 304OCV offshore construction vessel with a length of 149.8m and beam of 27m is due to join the DeepOcean fleet early in 2016.With 2 off 220HP Constructor WROV’s moon pool handling, L&R 7m Hs and accommodation for 140 people. Credit: DeepOcean

“In the current market, with tough competition for every job I am pleased that DeepOcean has been selected by Repsol for this project. DeepOcean already has an in-depth knowledge of Repsol’s assets in the North Sea, through our long term relationship on maintaining the integrity of their assets. Coupled with our significant experience for similar operations it is great to learn that our project team has been able to take advantage of this and develop a cost efficient solution for Repsol.

Further, the new construction vessel Edda Freya, arriving in our fleet in 2Q16 has been specially designed for multiple types of subsea operations, and hence prove very cost efficient for subject scope”, says Rolf Ivar Sørdal, DeepOcean’s Commercial Director for Subsea Services in the Greater North Sea.

On Friday, April 29, 2016, a CHC helicopter on assignment for Statoil crashed outside Turøy in Fjell municipality outside Bergen, Norway. 13 people, 2 pilots and 11 passengers onboard, died in the accident.

Map image courtesy: Statoil

On Saturday April 30, Statoil’s president and CEO, Eldar Sætre, and executive vice president Development & Production Norway, Arne Sigve Nylund, visited the center for next of kin in Bergen.

Statoil will continue to support those who need it most, those who are directly affected, families, colleagues onshore and on the platforms. Statoil will also assist next of kin who are not present at the centre, and colleagues on Gullfaks B. Personnel with experience from following up people in crisis are available for those who need it.

"Today, we are one family. We will stand together as one united industry, and do everything in our power to take care of the affected families," Sætre said.

The Accident Investigation Board in Norway will investigate the accident, and Statoil will contribute to this job. Statoil will also start its own investigation in cooperation with the employee representatives and the safety delegates. This investigation will be coordinated with the work of the Accident Investigation Board.

"Finding an answer to why the helicopter crashed is very important, both to the next of kin and to all who have the Norwegian continental shelf as their work place. The safety of everyone working for Statoil is the most important thing for us,” Sætre says.

The 11 passengers are employed in the following companies: Halliburton, Aker Solutions, Schlumberger, Welltec, Karsten Moholt and Statoil. The two pilots are employed by CHC. One of the 13 is a Statoil employee.

TIW UK Limited recently signed a three-year contract extension with Total E&P UK. This three-year agreement is focused on the supply and rental of Liner Hanger products and services for their upcoming drilling projects within the North Sea.

“TIW has had a long-standing relationship with Total and is delighted to secure this contract extension,” said Matthew Gray, TIW UK district manager. “We are looking forward to continue building on our long relationship with Total and to continue delivering quality equipment, support and solutions to their operations over the next three years.”

Damen Shipyards Group has announced the opening of a new branch office in Houston, Texas. This expansion, under the name of Damen North America, meets the increasing demand for Damen’s unique shipbuilding concepts and repair and conversion services.

The branch office – representing the Damen Shipyards Newbuild, and Damen Shiprepair & Conversion businesses across North America and Canada – has decided to open offices in the heart of the Energy Corridor of Houston, to ensure it can accommodate customers in the best possible way.

Arnout Damen, Chief Commercial Officer, said: “In this difficult economical climate, we are of the opinion that it is important to support the oil and gas market and are thrilled to expand our business to customers across North America and Canada. I am therefore pleased that we are expanding office locations to North America and improving service and product offerings to these markets.

“We seek to provide our customers the best quality, proven designs, short delivery times, low maintenance and excellent resale value and trustworthy repair & conversion solutions, combined with our commitment that we will deliver an unrivaled service to the highest safety and reliability standards.”

“Establishing an office out of Houston demonstrates the power of the Damen global presence for mutually beneficial and cost effective solutions,” said Jan van Hogerwou, Manager USA & Canada for New Buildings. “I look forward to working closely together with both ship operators as well as shipyards to maximize the value of having a local presence with the use of proven designs, high quality craftsmanship and low Total Cost of Ownership.

“We expect a lot from our new License to Build program in which we offer our ship designs and our construction expertise to any shipyard in the US. Our standardized shipbuilding approach, known as The Damen Standard, has become one of our fundamental core values. It gives us the ability to offer our customers well-proven, innovative vessels and/or designs for competitive prices.”

“We’re incredibly excited about the potential of this new office,” said Ruud Haneveer, Market Development Executive for Damen Shiprepair & Conversion. “We are proud to work for Damen, to operate as one family and teamwork is key to our success.

“The new office demonstrates our ever-expanding focus on customers’ needs. Through this local office, we are closer to our customers in the region. We value our customers’ feedback and the contribution it makes to advancing our ambition to improve our performance continuously and to set new standards in the repair and conversion of ships. The repair & conversion services represented by us are related to the group’s Shiprepair and Conversion shipyards located outside the United States of America.”

Subsea IMR provider, N-Sea, has been awarded a new contract with Galloper Offshore Wind Farm Ltd (GWFL).

The contract for pre-construction unexploded ordnance (UXO) clearance works commenced in April 2016 and includes UXO risk management, target investigations and clearance on the Galloper Wind Farm, off the coast of Suffolk.

Expected to run for between 3-6 months, the project sees the Siem N-Sea multi-support vessel utilize a WROV to investigate potential UXO targets within the array areas and export cable corridor. N-Sea’s dive support vessel, Neptunus, will also undertake similar tasks in shallow water areas.

Dive Support Vessel, Neptunus. Image credit: N-Sea

To complete the clearance works, N-Sea has sub-contracted Ordtek Ltd (provider of unexploded ordnance risk management for land and marine developments), Modus Seabed Intervention (work class ROV and crew hire) and Ramora UK (Explosive Ordnance Disposal services).

Chief operating officer at N-Sea, Roddy James, said: “We are delighted to have the opportunity to contribute to the development of the Galloper project, which is a key part of the UK’s renewable energy portfolio.

“N-Sea has an impressive track record of unexploded ordnance campaigns in harsh conditions, which was key to our success in securing this contract. Our personnel and equipment resources are at the leading edge of UXO services, and our efficient, robust systems ensure we complete every project safely, on-time and within budget. This is a clear reflection of our ability to always provide safe, sound and swift solutions for our clients.”

N-Sea is known for its innovative work as an independent offshore subsea contractor, specializing in IMR services for the oil and gas, renewable and telecom/utility industries, as well as for civil contracting communities. N-Sea provides near shore, offshore and survey services to major operators and service companies alike.

Ordtek Ltd recently launched a Mine Map sharing information regarding UXO around the UK coastline. The map illustrates that the Galloper area, was heavily mined in the First and Second World Wars, and has been an active British military training area.

Ordtek director Lee Gooderham: “We are delighted to be working on this important renewable energy project off our local Suffolk shoreline. This is significant and complex project for us, with considerable ordnance has previously been found at the neighbouring Greater Gabbard site.”