Next week, a team of 26 amateur and enthusiastic riders from Global Marine, CWind and Global Offshore, all part of the Global Marine Group, will be taking part in a cycling challenge raising money for our two corporate charities. Having previously cycled from Chelmsford to our Portland Depot, and from our offices in Grimsby to our Blyth Hub, this year the much anticipated cycling challenge will once again begin at our Head Office in Chelmsford. After the initial trepidation has subsided, the team will finish the first day of the ride 200 kilometres later in Lowestoft, the location of our CWind Training facilities. The following day will see the team cycling around East Anglia, taking in the views of the many wind farms dotted along the coastline, finishing in Kings Lynn, taking the two-day distance to over 350 kilometres.
For some of the riders, the challenge won’t end there; a large portion of the team will be cycling back to Chelmsford or Grimsby on day 3 of the ride, to finish the weekend with a whopping 500 kilometres of cycling completed.
It is not only a personal challenge for the riders but an excellent opportunity to raise sponsorship for two very worthwhile charities, The Jubilee Sailing Trust (jst.org.uk) and the Ninos Pag-Asa Orphanage. The JST takes both disabled and able-bodied people to sea on their purpose-built tall ships, promoting equality, sharing, and to celebrate individual differences by working together to achieve greater things. The Orphanage is a charity very close to our hearts here at Global Marine Group, having supported the centre and children there in the Philippines for over 20 years.
GMG would like to thank suppliers, partners and friends who have kindly sponsored the event: Port of Blyth, Pharos, MODUS, TEXO, Tekmar, World Fuel Services, JME and Power CSL. To make a donation in support of both charities, please click here: https://give.everydayhero.com/uk/global-marine-group-the-pedal-2019/
Global Marine Group (GMG), supported by its business units Global Marine, Global Offshore and CWind, has signed a framework agreement for cable repair with offshore wind farm developer and operator Ørsted.
Launching on 25th June, the framework becomes a part of the Atlantic Cable Maintenance Agreement (ACMA) which is delivered by GMG alongside zone partner Orange Marine. Should the dedicated ACMA vessel, C.S. Sovereign, be unavailable due to other commitments within the zone, this agreement extends Ørsted’s access to other assets in the Group’s fleet including the Global Symphony, ASV Pioneer and CTVs for ancillary services.
With some 1,150 turbines already installed offshore, Ørsted is the world’s leading operator providing 13 million people with clean electricity. The agreement covers most of the organisation’s UK offshore wind farm portfolio, including almost 900km of subsea array cable.
Benj Sykes, UK Country Manager for Ørsted’s offshore activities, said, “We have been looking for a solution which wraps all of our maintenance and replacement cable work into a single service provider, and we are pleased to be working with the Global Marine Group alongside ACMA and its members. Many of our wind farm sites operate in close proximity to telecoms cable already installed on the seabed, so the combined experience within the Group of working with both fibre optic and power cables and the depth of their collective resources, gives us absolute confidence in our chosen solution for the future.”
Alasdair Wilkie, Chairman at ACMA, commented, “ACMA is a non-profit co-operative subsea maintenance agreement consisting of 60+ organisations in the Atlantic, North Sea and South Eastern Pacific Ocean. We’ve worked successfully with Global Marine for many years to address the needs of our members and are looking forward to sharing our best-practice within telecoms to help forge the future of power cable maintenance.”
The framework also gives Ørsted access to the rest of the Group for offshore services with Global Offshore managing and conducting power cable replacement, and repairs supported by CWind including in-situ repairs, working to rectify faults within the confined space of each affected turbine. CWind could support Ørsted by providing temporary power for both planned and unplanned power outages, logistics and personnel, plus any necessary cable pull-in teams, termination and testing.
Ian Douglas, CEO at Global Marine Group, added, “Cable maintenance is intrinsic to our business, and having been a key service provider to ACMA and other maintenance zones for many years, we will be able to marry this historic telecom experience with the Group’s power cable experience associated with our participation in the post-millennium offshore renewables boom.”
Mr. Douglas continued, “This is a pioneering commercial and technical approach to power cable maintenance and repair, and we believe will set the blueprint for the future of combined cable and subsea asset agreements which brings about benefits for everyone across multiple industries.”
Global Marine Group (GMG), has worked in close collaboration with offshore technology company Osbit and its first confirmed client for the new plough, Vattenfall, to design the tool to meet genuine market demand. The plough is optimised to help deliver reductions in the cost of offshore wind installation and to minimise project risk by combining operations to reduce the time required to install subsea cables.
The plough offers unrivalled single pass capability, which enables boulder clearance and pre-trenching up to 1.7m in a single run, leaving a boulder cleared swathe and a ‘backfill-ready’ open trench with segregated spoil. The plough is also fully subsea adjustable and features an extensive surveillance suite for accurate and effective trenching.
The plough can be reconfigured into backfill mode, which uses the same control and surveillance suite to monitor the cable and trench profile, enabling reliable backfilling whilst ensuring the safety of the cable at all times. Osbit’s innovative forward skid arrangement and surveillance equipment provide market-leading levels of cable integrity assurance.
Martyn Drye, Director of Engineering at Global Marine Group, said, “Our new PLP240 will allow us to reduce the time to first power production by shortening the wind farm construction phase, and therefore delivering an earlier return on investment for our developer clients. Through intelligent engineering alongside the Osbit team, we’ve created a versatile solution which integrates cable route preparation, cable laying and trenching – an industry first. The PLP240 complements our existing fleet of subsea trenchers and ploughs, offering clients a solution that’s right for them no matter in which subsea sector they operate.”
Osbit Director Robbie Blakeman commented, “We are very proud to have delivered this class-leading subsea plough to Global Marine Group. We are committed to developing globally innovative subsea trenching solutions using our proven modular technology and the delivery of this project reinforces the effectiveness of this approach”
Mr. Blakeman continued, “I would like to thank Global Marine Group and Vattenfall for their genuine collaboration, which was key in supporting the project’s smooth execution, as well as our local supply chain, which played a major part in enabling this successful delivery.”
Following contract award in January, Osbit completed final assembly and sign-off at the company’s Port of Blyth assembly facility, at the end of May. The PLP240 will undergo rigorous wet testing before commencing work on Vattenfall’s Danish Kriegers Flak project in 2020.
As part of the NEXUS consortium, Global Marine Group is pleased to share the latest news on the a shared project to develop the Crew Transfer Vessel of the future.
A new multi-million euros European research and development project will develop new Service Operation Vessel (SOV) designs and business concepts to meet the urgent and growing needs of the offshore wind operations and industry. The project is co-led by ARTTIC and Rolls-Royce Marine.
As wind farms are moving further offshore, operations and maintenance (O&M) providers are following them into more hostile waters with more challenging service demands. The relatively high cost of wind farm maintenance today has a negative impact on the competitiveness of offshore wind produced electricity. In addition, the current safety requirements limit design and operational flexibility. Future vessels to service the offshore windfarms will have to be both more efficient and safe.
The three year long NEXUS project has been granted 3.3M€ from the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 research programme to help tackle these challenges. With a total budget of 4.4M€, NEXUS ultimately aims to deliver an advanced service vessel concept optimised for maximum performance and safety with minimised lifetime cost by 20 per cent and with reduced CO2 emission by 30 per cent compared to current state of the art vessels.
Asbjørn Skaro, Director of Systems, Rolls-Royce Marine, said: “The number of European SOV’s are estimated to quadruple within the next ten years. Through the NEXUS project, we aim to provide a vessel concept with improved and new solutions for operations and maintenance of offshore wind turbines and farms. The overall goal is to make offshore wind power more cost-effective.”
NEXUS will develop and demonstrate a novel, beyond state of the art, specialised vessel, and logistics for safe and sustainable servicing of offshore wind farms. This will be achieved by designing and validating a reference concept SOV that will integrate new and emerging technologies. To allow room for design creativity and flexibility, the project will also recommend new safety regulations for windfarm service vessels.
NEXUS includes simulation, model testing and consideration of the most suitable construction and production principles for small series or one off vessels of this type. Key aspects of NEXUS include environmental impact assessment, cost estimation as well as both the marketability (technology push), and the cost effectiveness of the offshore operations concerned (demand pull).
Dr Romanas Puisa, Safety Researcher at the Maritime Safety Research Centre of University of Strathclyde, one of the key leaders of the NEXUS project, believes that the project will have a great impact on the whole value chain. He said: “NEXUS will impact EU marine businesses by reducing costs and providing industry with a tool set that will give them a competitive edge in the European Waters and the ability to use the same process to expand in to new wind markets around the world“.
NEXUS will enable an increase in the professional skills of workers and the capability of the European marine and maritime industry to develop and commercialise specialised vessels and related technology. This will particularly benefit SMEs and has the potential to support European growth and employment through development of a blue economy.
The NEXUS consortium:
(1) ARTTIC (FR, Coordinator)
(2) ROLLS-ROYCE Marine (Norway)
(3) THE UNIVERISITY OF STRATHCLYDE (UK)
(4) ASTILLEROS GONDAN (Spain)
(5) DNV GL (Norway)
(6) Global Marine Group (UK)
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.”
The Global Marine Group (GMG), a market leader in offshore engineering services to the telecommunications, renewables and oil & gas industries, announced today the launch of Global Offshore, a new business unit that will deliver trenching and power cable laying services to the oil & gas sector. Global Offshore will focus the staff, vessels and subsea equipment needed to meet the demands of oil & gas companies operating around the world, for projects that include pipeline, cable and umbilical installation and trenching, platform-to-platform connectivity and complete platform to subsea installation services.
Operating from a strategically located base in Aberdeen, Scotland, Managing Director Mike Daniel leads the Global Offshore team. The team has an exemplary operational track record in a variety of seabed conditions for major global companies such as Shell and BP, including the installation of more than 470 power cables. Global Offshore’s assets include the M/V Symphony, a multi-purpose vessel with an extensive 1,400m² deck space, two powerful and flexible Q1400 jet trenchers and two work class remotely operated vehicles. In addition, depending on the needs of specific projects, Global Offshore will have access to GMG’s full capabilities and diverse fleet, including four specialist cable installation and repair vessels, four maintenance vessels and 16 Crew Transport Vessels.
“Offshore oil & gas customers, who often operate under demanding conditions, have always been important to the Global Marine Group,” said Ian Douglas, Chief Executive Officer of Global Marine Group. “Adding industry leading and highly sought-after specialist trenching capabilities to our offering should create significant opportunities for our customers and for the entire Global Marine Group for years to come.”
Global Offshore will sit alongside existing GMG business units Global Marine and CWind. Global Marine provides fibre-optic cable installation and maintenance solutions to global telecommunications providers and supports installation projects and significant long-term maintenance agreements for the Atlantic Cable Maintenance Agreement (ACMA), South East Asia and Indian Ocean Cable Maintenance Agreement (SEAIOCMA) and North America Zone (NAZ).
CWind delivers power cable and asset management services topside and subsea to the offshore renewables and utilities markets, a market that is widely forecasted to witness significant long-term growth. CWind most recently conducted a number of high-profile offshore power cable projects, including the rapid deployment of the C.S. Sovereign to repair the power connection between the Isles of Scilly and the UK mainland, in addition to a cable installation project at the Rampion Offshore Wind Farm. CWind also holds a number of operations and maintenance contracts, with the longest running until 2036 at the offshore and onshore substations at Westermost Rough offshore wind farm.
Currently the primary charity supported by the company is the Ninos Pag Asa Centre, based in Olongapo, Philippines. It is an orphanage for those who are not cared for nor looked after by any other agency. It is authorised and licensed to operate as a social work agency giving medical assistance, educational programmes, skills training and community based rehabilitation. The centre not only look after those who are resident, but also educate and assist other children and adults in the local community.
Global Marine has been supporting the centre since Cable Retriever arrived in 1998. The Captain of the Cable Retriever, together with the Make a Difference Team (MAD), in the UK take responsibility for supporting the orphanage and organise many activities to this end throughout the year.
Since 2015, the company has supported Brainwave, a charity offering therapy to children with disabilities and additional needs to help them achieve their potential. After an initial assessment Brainwave therapists devise a structured exercise therapy programme for each child with is based on the theory of neuroplasticity,helping the brain find new pathways in the ‘neural network’ by providing regular repetition of newly acquired skills.
Acquisition Further Positions Global Marine Group for Significant Offshore Power Market Opportunities
Chelmsford, Friday 1st December 2017. Global Marine Group (“GMG”), a market leader in offshore engineering services to the telecommunications, renewables and oil & gas industries, announced today that it has completed its previously announced acquisition of Fugro N.V.’s (“Fugro”) (AMS:FUR) trenching and cable lay services business.
The Fugro acquisition significantly enhances GMG’s portfolio of service offerings to the market, with a comprehensive range of integrated services that enable GMG to complete additional packages of work in direct response to market demands. The transaction also provides GMG with highly capable, proven assets, including 23 employees located in Aberdeen, that have a successful track record of delivering complex subsea engineering projects to offshore customers globally. For example, the M/V Symphony, a multi-purpose vessel built in 2011 with an extensive 1,400m2 deck space, has recently joined GMG’s cable installation and maintenance fleet. In addition, GMG has added two powerful Q1400 trenchers and two work class remotely operated vehicles to its offering. As part of this transaction, Fugro will become the preferred provider of marine site characterisation and asset integrity services to GMG.
“We believe this acquisition has two key benefits, meeting the needs of our customers, while at the same time strengthening GMG’s market position in offshore power,” said Ian Douglas, Chief Executive Officer of GMG. “I’m delighted to welcome on board such a well-respected group of people led by Mike Daniel, and I look forward to seeing the contribution they will make to the Global Marine Group over the coming months.”
Mike Daniel, manager of the trenching and cable lay services business, added, “We have an excellent track record in the offshore renewables and oil & gas sectors. As a team, we have been involved in the installation of more than 470 power cables, recently completing the installation of 122 cables at the Rampion Offshore Wind Farm. We have also successfully completed the trenching of the export cable and inter array cables on the world’s first floating wind farm, Hywind Scotland, off the coast of Aberdeenshire, demonstrating our innovative industry leading approach. Moving forward, we will continue to support existing and new customers alike, utilising our skill set to support the wider business goals of Global Marine Group.”
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.
Acquisition further positions company for significant offshore power market opportunities
Chelmsford, Thursday 12 October 2017. Global Marine Group (“GMG”), a leading provider of offshore engineering services to the telecommunications, oil & gas, and renewables industries, announced today that Global Marine Systems Limited (“GMSL”) has entered into an agreement with Fugro N.V. (“Fugro”) (AMS: “FUR”) under which GMG will acquire Fugro’s trenching and cable lay services business.
The purchase consideration, valued at approximately US$73 million, consists of the issuance to a subsidiary of Fugro of a 23.6% equity interest in Global Marine Holdings LLC (the parent company of GMSL), valued at US$65 million, and an obligation of GMSL to pay Fugro US$7.5 million within one year pursuant to a secured vendor. The acquisition of Fugro’s trenching and cable lay services business involves the transfer to GMG of 23 Fugro employees located in Aberdeen, as well as one vessel (M/V Symphony), two powerful Q1400 trenchers, and two work class remotely operated vehicles. Built in 2011, the M/V Symphony, a multi-purpose vessel with an extensive 1,400m² deck space, will join GMG’s cable installation and maintenance fleet. In addition, as part of this transaction, Fugro will become the preferred provider of marine site characterisation and asset integrity services to GMG.
The acquisition will significantly enhance GMG’s portfolio of service offerings to the market, with a comprehensive range of integrated services, with the immediate capacity to complete additional packages of work in direct response to market demands. This transaction will provide GMG with highly capable, proven assets with a history of delivering complex engineering projects to customers around the world.
Fugro is the world’s leading, independent provider of geo-intelligence and asset integrity solutions. Fugro acquires and analyses data on topography and the subsurface, soil composition, meteorological and environmental conditions, and provides related advice. With its geo-intelligence and asset integrity solutions, Fugro supports the safe, efficient and sustainable development and operation of buildings, industrial facilities and infrastructure and the exploration and development of natural resources. Since the founding of Fugro’s trenching and cable lay services business in 2012, Fugro has established a strong presence in the renewables market, working with offshore wind farms including Lincs Wind Farm, Humber Gateway, Gwynt y Môr and Rampion. The business has also conducted multiple operations in oil & gas for major oil companies such as Shell and BP.
“This acquisition is another deliberate step in our strategic plan, adding extensive capabilities of the Fugro trenching and cable lay team to the Global Marine Group and further equipping us with proven assets to support our growth plans,” said Ian Douglas, CEO of Global Marine Group. “I am delighted that Fugro identified us as the right partner to advance their trenching and cable lay business and I am looking forward to welcoming the Aberdeen based trenching team to our corporate family. We are committed to our vision of engineering a clean and connected future and we will continue to build, align and adapt our business in order to meet the evolving needs of our customers.”
“As we continue to carefully build and develop our business in support of our long-term strategic view, we are delighted to partner with Fugro,” added Dick Fagerstal, Executive Chairman of Global Marine Group. “Fugro’s long standing world-wide expertise in many segments of the offshore services markets will greatly benefit the Global Marine Group as we work towards our goal of delivering attractive risk adjusted returns for all our constituents.”
“A key objective of Fugro’s ‘Building on Strength’ strategy is to seek a partnership or divest our construction and installation related marine activities,” said Paul van Riel, CEO of Fugro. “We have taken a major step forward in delivering on this strategic objective by contributing our trenching and cable lay services business towards a promising partnership with Global Marine Group. Fugro will participate in a profitable and diversified business with solid growth potential. This step will also support Fugro’s growth in the nautical market segment.”
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, and is expected to close in the fourth quarter 2017.
