The Global Marine Group (GMG), a market leader in offshore engineering services to the telecommunications, renewables and oil & gas industries, today announced the appointment of Mark Preece as Managing Director of CWind, the Group’s offshore renewable business.
Preece, who has extensive experience in the offshore and maritime sectors, joined CWind on an interim basis late in 2017. He has built a solid reputation for delivering complex, high value projects, having formerly served as Executive Vice Chairman at PDi Ltd, CEO of CEONA Offshore and CEO of Reef Subsea.
Speaking about his appointment, Preece said, “CWind’s journey to date has been impressive. Since 2009 they have grown at a phenomenal rate, and are recognised by many as a key partner to successfully deliver innovative O&M solutions in the offshore renewables market. I am delighted to play a part in the next step of their journey.”
“Mark is a high calibre individual with a strong record of achievement,” said Ian Douglas, Chief Executive Officer of Global Marine Group. “His operational, commercial and business development experience will be invaluable to us and will strengthen the CWind leadership hugely as we align ourselves to meet future industry requirements.”
CWind, a leading provider of power cable and asset management services to the offshore renewables and utilities market, and part of the Global Marine Group, announced today the formation of a joint venture with International Ocean Vessel Technical Consultant (IOVTEC), a survey and crew transfer vessel (CTV) service provider based in Taiwan.
The new joint venture, CWind Taiwan, will provide offshore wind farm training and best practice, and support services to Taiwanese offshore wind farm developers and owners. The partnership is a strong strategic fit, leveraging the two companies’ respective strengths: CWind’s extensive offshore renewables experience and proven ability to develop local content, and IOVTEC’s detailed knowledge of the Taiwanese offshore renewables market. The collaboration will significantly expand CWind’s reach in Taiwan, while broadening the deliverable capabilities of IOVTEC.
“Launching CWind Taiwan is another bold step in the strategic growth of the Global Marine Group,” said Ian Douglas, Chief Executive Officer of Global Marine Group. “We believe the Taiwan offshore renewable market is on the cusp of exponential growth due primarily to the introduction of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction and Management Act, which seeks to increase the percentage of renewable energy contribution from six to twenty percent by 2025. According to 4C Offshore, Taiwan is expected to achieve 5.5 GW of installed offshore wind capacity by 2025. CWind’s impressive track record around the world, combined with IOVTEC’s local insights, perfectly positions CWind Taiwan to play what we believe can be a significant role in shaping the future of Taiwan’s energy market.”
CWind has established the National Wind Farm Training Centres (NWFTC) in the UK, with two locations, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria and Lowestoft, Suffolk. The NWFTC provides a comprehensive range of Global Wind Organisation (GWO) and RenewableUK accredited courses including tower rescue, confined space, sea survival and response team training. CWind Taiwan will adapt and extend the respected NWFTC training model to support the growth of a core base of Taiwanese trained technicians, enabling local content in Taiwan.
Vincent Tsai, Chief Executive Officer of IOVTEC, said, “The formation of CWind Taiwan demonstrates our commitment to contributing to Taiwan’s long-term energy goals. Our new joint venture will help customers meet requirements to reduce the country’s carbon footprint. Partnering with such an experienced company presents a fantastic opportunity for IOVTEC and I look forward to working closely with the CWind team.”
Global Marine Group (GMG) has launched a new Safety, Security and Environmental Management System (SSEMS).
The system has been organised, planned and implemented by GMG to ensure the safety and operational excellence of its people and assets, as well as to safeguard the environment. Structured to meet the requirements of the Offshore Vessel Management and Self-Assessment (OVMSA) programme. Along with the stipulations set out in the International Safety Management (ISM) Code, the new SSEMS enhances the Company’s regulatory compliance and supports the continual evolution of industry standards.
Safety is the number one priority at GMG, Global Marine and CWind, and we are proud to have completed 1.65 million working hours in 2016 without a single injury, a remarkable achievement given the potentially hazardous environments in which our people and assets operate.
As well as OVMSA and the ISM Code, the new SSEMS supports GMG’s status as an active member of the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA); staff from the Company’s RQHSE (Risk Quality Health Safety & Environment) team sit on IMCA’s HSSE (Health, Safety, Security & Environment) committee. GMG is also proud to hold the Order of Distinction, an honour bestowed by RoSPA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents) on organisations achieving a minimum of 15 consecutive Gold Awards (GMG has 18). Gold Awards are presented in recognition of outstanding occupational health and safety standards.
Two DONG Energy offshore wind farms set to benefit from CWind expertise.
Chelmsford, Friday 8 September 2017. CWind, a leading provider of services to the offshore wind industry, announced today that it has been awarded a contract by DONG Energy, to install new and retrofit existing gates on the transition pieces (TPs) at the Gode Wind and Borkum Riffgrund offshore wind farms, located in the North Sea off the coast of Northern Germany.
CWind, which is part of the Global Marine Group and delivers the Company’s power capabilities, will use its own crew transfer vessels, assets and engineering expertise to help ensure the project is completed successfully and on time. The CWind Phantom, a 27.4m catamaran, will undertake the work on Gode Wind’s 97 turbines and Borkum Riffgrund’s 77 turbines. Work began on 1 September 2017, with the first phase expected to be completed in eight weeks.
The entire project has been scheduled for completion within one year and will call upon the skills of eight of CWind’s experienced electrical engineers and mechanical technicians, all of whom have benefited from training at the Company’s in-house facility, the NWFTC (National Wind Farm Training Centres). Extensive navigational lighting and cable rerouting will be required to accommodate the new gates, demonstrating CWind’s electrical engineering capability and capacity.
“We have worked with DONG Energy for many years, including extensive prior work at Gode Wind, and we are pleased to continue our close business relationship,” said Lee Andrews, Managing Director of CWind. “The decision to utilise the same site team for the new project, to ensure consistency, has been well received by the client. Our aim is to always deliver successful projects with excellent customer service. The fact that DONG Energy has returned to CWind demonstrates our can-do attitude and our ability to get things right first time.”
Chelmsford, Thursday 17 August 2017. Global Marine Group (GMG), a leading provider of offshore engineering services to the renewables, telecommunications and oil & gas industries, announced today that it has been awarded a contract from E.ON, an international, privately-owned energy supplier focused on renewables, energy networks and customer solutions, to install a fibre optic cable at the Rampion Offshore Wind Farm, under construction 13km off the coast of Sussex, UK. Upon completion the cable will run from the shore to an offshore substation, providing a vital communications link for this major wind farm. The installation is expected to be completed later this month.
CWind, which is part of the GMG and is responsible for delivering the Company’s power capabilities, will execute the contract and will utilise the Group’s capable assets and project engineering team. The installation will centre on a 96-fibre armoured cable supplied from Hexatronic, installed by the CS Recorder using the proven Hi-Plough to ensure appropriate cable protection in the hard chalk seabed.
“It is a pleasure for CWind to continue working with Rampion,” said Lee Andrews, Managing Director for CWind, part of Global Marine Group. “We are well placed to support the project, with a comprehensive track record of successful cable installations. In a very tight timeframe, the CWind team has engineered a solution for a complex project that accommodates the existing on site infrastructure. We now look forward to successfully conducting the installation and will naturally embrace our “right first time” ethos throughout the project.”
Due to be completed and operational in 2018, the Rampion Offshore Wind Farm, owned by E.ON, the UK Green Investment Bank plc and Canadian energy company Enbridge, will generate 400MW of power, the equivalent of the electricity used by almost 347,000 homes, comparable to around half the homes in Sussex.
Chelmsford, Tuesday 8 August 2017. CWind, a leading provider of services to the offshore wind industry, announced today that it has been successfully awarded a contract to deliver all cable pull-in services for 66 offshore wind turbines and one offshore substation at Merkur Offshore Wind Farm, which is currently being constructed 45km from the island of Borkum in the German North Sea.
The contract for CWind, which is part of the Global Marine Group and delivers the Company’s power capabilities, has been awarded by Tideway, part of the DEME Group, a global leader in dredging, marine engineering and environmental remediation. The expertise of CWind’s technicians and project engineers will ensure on-time project completion and will assist Merkur to supply energy to 288,469 homes.
Pre-project engineering is already underway, with CWind technicians and equipment expected on site by September 2017 to deliver the main cable pull-in campaign. High-proficiency training at CWind’s Barrow-in-Furness offshore wind training facility is currently being arranged for the Tideway Team, focusing specifically on cable termination and testing.
The contract emphasises the ongoing period of intense activity for CWind, which has project teams and vessels working at numerous locations, completing both installation and repair projects across the UK and Europe.
“CWind is known for our “Right First Time” approach and has vast understanding with this type of project, having competed 421 cable pull-ins to date. This experience and know-how provides our clients complete confidence in our teams’ capabilities,” said Lee Andrews, Managing Director of CWind. “With pre-project engineering already in progress, this prestigious project supports our group vision of engineering a clean and connected future for the offshore power sector.”
Chelmsford, Thursday 3 August 2017. Global Marine Group (GMG), a leading provider of offshore engineering services to the renewables, telecommunications and oil & gas industries, announced today that it has successfully completed a remedial cable burial project for Prinses Amaliawindpark (PAWP), a wind farm off the Netherlands’ West Coast. PAWP covers an area of around 14km2 and comprises of 60 wind turbines that are connected by eight in-field cable strings that converge at the central offshore high voltage station.
The project, operated by Eneco, [an energy company responsible for generating and supplying sustainable energy originating from wind, heat, biomass and solar farms,] was completed according to schedule and in conjunction with operational and safety standards. Upon completion, the customer described the outcome as having met ‘superb standards’.
GMG’s first project with Eneco has been executed by CWind, which is part of the GMG and is responsible for delivering the Company’s power capabilities. The contract was secured in part, due to GMG’s proven track record of completing complex cable burial projects and to having the trenching equipment already mobilised for rapid deployment. The project utilised CWind’s in-house resources including the CS Recorder, which has DP2 dynamic positioning; the Q1000, a powerful remotely-operated vehicle (ROV) jet trenching system; as well as a skilled onshore and offshore engineering team.
The 28km shore connection cable responsible for delivering power to the onshore substation was installed in 2007 and was trenched below the seabed to depths of up to three metres. Natural movement of the seabed in the subsequent ten years reduced its burial depth. As such, the main objective of the project was to rebury the live cable to ensure its protection in commercial waters, and to comply with the site’s permit requirements.
“We are extremely pleased with the work carried out for us by the CWind team,” said Jeroen Achterberg, Eneco Project Manager. “With a 100% clean safety record and high levels of safety awareness during the reburial project, the results led to the project being completed within schedule and to superb standards.”
Lee Andrews, Managing Director of CWind added, “Key to the success of the PAWP assignment was our ability to respond quickly to the client’s requirements by drawing on available in-house resources and, of course, our wide experience in offshore wind farm engineering. We completed the project in just three weeks with utmost safety and efficiency – great work by all concerned.”
Chelmsford, Monday 3 July 2017. CWind, a leading provider of services to the offshore wind industry, announced today that DONG Energy, one of the key energy groups in Northern Europe, has granted CWind a two-year extension to its existing three-year Crew Transfer Vessel contract at the West of Duddon Sands Offshore Wind Farm in the Irish Sea.
CWind, the offshore power focused business of Global Marine Group (GMG), will provide vessels for Operations & Maintenance (O&M) to the 108-turbine West of Duddon Sands site, including a summer campaign to ensure the site remains operating at peak performance throughout the busier summer months. The contract extension builds on CWind’s solid track record over the first three years of the project.
“This extension to our contract with DONG Energy is a fantastic achievement that reflects the great service we consistently deliver to customers,” said Lee Andrews, Managing Director at CWind. “Winning a contract from a paper-based submission, as we did three years ago, is one thing, but securing an extension demonstrates our actual on-site performance levels and customer satisfaction. We have delivered on service and exceeded expectations in many areas, and we are determined to do the same over the next two years, relying on our can-do attitude and resourceful approach.”
Steven Clarke, Head of West of Duddon Sands Operations, said: “The turbines at West of Duddon Sands, which produce enough clean electricity to power up to 340,000 homes each year, are maintained by hard-working technicians journeying out to sea each day. The crew vessels CWind have provided over the last three years have had a high utilisation factor and we very much look forward to continuing our work together.”
Three of the CWind’s 18-strong fleet of Crew Transfer Vessels (CTVs) have been dedicated to the project, comprising a pair of 19-metre resin-infused Multi-Purpose Catamarans (MPCs) and one Small Water-plane Area Twin Hull (SWATH) vessel. The robust and lightweight composite construction of the CTVs have proved to deliver fuel efficiencies and significant CO2 emission savings.
The MPC19 catamarans use a modular three-section-pod comprising a wheelhouse, accommodation pod and porch module to provide enhanced deck space options and excellent operational flexibility. The catamarans can handle tasks ranging from passenger transfer, generator management, refuelling and food deliveries, through to straightforward accommodation duties.
For technicians who face a tough commute and need to arrive on site ready to begin work, the SWATH hull form is designed to cut through waves rather than ride over them, dramatically improving transit comfort, even in rough seas. Motions are approximately a quarter of those of conventional catamarans.
Importantly, CWind’s services on site are fully integrated within the whole West of Duddon Sands wind farm team. Strong relationships built with marine co-ordinators, site teams, technicians and other contractors, established over the first three years of this contract, plus the two prior to that with the company’s involvement in the site’s construction phase, will make for efficient service provision moving forward.
CWind, a leading provider of services to the offshore renewables industry and part of the Global Marine Group focused on delivering the company’s power cable capabilities, announced today that it has reached the halfway point on a 15 month project to provide a wide range of secondary works at Iberdrola’s Wikinger offshore wind farm. Once complete, the wind farm located in the German Baltic Sea, will comprise 70 wind turbine generators and a single offshore substation with a generating capacity of 350 Megawatts.
Lee Andrews, Managing Director at CWind and responsible for delivering Global Marine Group’s power offering, stated, “We are pleased with the progress on our work at the Wikinger offshore wind farm, and are proud to be working on our first contract with Iberdrola, a global leader in wind energy. This contract builds on our strong track record in supporting wind farms in the UK and Europe, including West of Duddon Sands, Westermost Rough and Humber Gateway. We look forward to a long and successful partnership with Iberdrola.”
CWind’s team of multi-skilled technicians will continue to perform essential tasks such as removal, replacement and repair of equipment and low voltage electrical works, wiring and testing according to BGV A3 (the official German regulation applied to electrical installations and equipment) including the fall arrest system and navigation equipment, until the works are internally handed over to Iberdola’s operations & maintenance team. The project is scheduled to be complete in November 2017.
CWind, a leading provider of services to the offshore wind industry, announced today that it has invested in the Company’s largest crew transfer vessel to date. Newly named as CWind Phantom, the 27.4m catamaran can hold 20,000 litres of fuel and has a 20 ton cargo capacity, making her suitable for longer stretches of work at wind farms located further from shore. This investment demonstrates the Company’s ability to evolve with the changing market. CWind’s fleet now totals 18, with access to additional cable installation and maintenance vessels via CWind’s parent company, Global Marine Systems Limited.
“Our experience on the world’s largest offshore wind farms has helped us build a diverse range of vessels that meet the changing needs of our valued clients,” said Lee Andrews, Managing Director for Power at CWind. “Transporting technicians quickly, safely and comfortably to and from sites, even in tough weather conditions, is critical to offshore project performance. The CWind Phantom is designed to exhibit reliability, superior fuel efficiency, high transfer height during operations and a large, flexible payload capability, all crucial specifications for the harsh conditions far from shore. Highly seaworthy and with impressive seakeeping ability, the CWind Phantom is also extremely manoeuvrable for a vessel of her size, with a proven and reliable propulsion combination.”
Built in 2015, the CWind Phantom can carry up to 12 passengers, with berths for eight people. The accommodation is fully air-conditioned and heated and offers all the amenities required to remain at sea for extended periods, including a dedicated meeting space.
Featuring an aluminium hull with 8m beam width and 1.4m draft, CWind Phantom can carry containers in a combination of configurations, while an on board crane can lift 1.1 tons at 5m outreach. The jet-driven vessel is powered by two MAN D2862 main engines and is capable of reaching a maximum speed of 27kn.
CWind took ownership of the vessel on 1st February. Following a mini-refit, the CWind Phantom will be available to start work on 1st March and already has significant client interest.
Mr Andrews concluded, “There is currently significant demand for vessels with the ability to work further offshore and we are already seeing client interest in the CWind Phantom. Ultimately, this investment enables us to provide a more integrated offering for both the construction and operations and maintenance phases of an offshore wind farm project.”
