An international Ocean Renewable Energy Action Coalition has been formed to advance sustainable deployment of ocean-based renewable energy and mitigate the harmful impacts of climate change.
Ocean based renewable energy – such as offshore wind, floating solar, tidal and wave power – could meet nearly 10% of the annual greenhouse gas emissions reductions needed by 2050 to keep global temperatures under 1.5ºC above pre-industrial levels, according to a report produced by the Expert Group of the High-Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy. Most of this climate change mitigation potential is expected to come from offshore wind.
Bringing together civil society, intergovernmental institutions and industry, the Action Coalition will represent the offshore wind sector in the global dialogue on climate action. It will be spearheaded by Ørsted and Equinor. The group also includes: CWind, Global Marine Group, JERA, MHI Vestas, Mainstream Renewable Power, Shell, Siemens Gamesa, TenneT and The Crown Estate.
The Action Coalition was formed in response to the September 2019 Call for Ocean-Based Climate Action made by the High-Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy, with additional partners including Global Wind Energy Council and the UN Global Compact.
The Action Coalition will prepare a vision for 2050, highlighting the actions that industry, financiers and governments can take to sustainably scale-up offshore wind, and thereby contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and global decarbonization goals. Initial outputs will be announced at the UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon in June 2020.
“If we’re serious about fighting the climate crisis, it’s vital we decarbonise the world’s energy use as quickly as possible through technologies like offshore wind. The Ocean Renewable Energy Action Coalition will work together to accelerate the opportunity presented by ocean renewables to achieve the Paris Agreement goals,” says Benj Sykes, Vice President at Ørsted.
“Collaboration between nations and companies is needed to accelerate the sustainable deployment of ocean renewable energy. This Action Coalition includes leading industry players in offshore wind and we are working together to unleash the full potential of offshore wind globally,” says Stephen Bull, Senior Vice President for Wind and Low Carbon at Equinor.
Driven by a small number of countries initially, offshore wind is now on a spectacular cost reduction path. It is capable of producing clean energy at tremendous scale and will be a key technology to enable the energy transition and to support a sustainable future.
Global Offshore is pleased to share RenewableUK’s latest press release regarding the appointment of a new Shadow Board, including our Director of Marketing, Gail Clark.
RenewableUK is setting up a Shadow Board, made up of rising stars in the clean energy sector, to provide a greater range of views on key issues to the organisation’s main Board.
The 11 successful applicants represent a wide range of companies across the sector, offering high levels of expertise in electrical engineering, project management, law, marketing, asset management, business development, environmental management and public affairs. They are in senior positions but none has previous Board-level experience.
The composition of the Shadow Board in terms of ethnicity and gender underlines the association’s commitment to diversity. Three-quarters of the Shadow Board members are women.
RenewableUK’s Chair Stephen Bull (Senior Vice President for Wind and Low Carbon Development at Equinor) and Board Member Lindsay McQuade, (Chief Executive of ScottishPower Renewables) will sit on the Shadow Board to provide a link to the main Board.
Stephen Bull said: “We want to hear fresh ideas from the most talented up and coming women and men from diverse backgrounds in this innovative sector. The Shadow Board can provide insight and analysis from a different perspective, and in return they’ll get valuable Board-level experience. RenewableUK is keen to play a pro-active role in developing the careers of our members, so they can step up to the top table. The Shadow Board gives them a pathway to do this.
Lindsay McQuade said: “The sheer volume of high-calibre applicants from all parts of our sector demonstrates just how many women and men deserve to be fast-tracked. This industry is attracting the brightest and the best because many people are passionately committed to making a difference by taking practical action against climate change. This industry has become a career choice for the most dynamic Chief Executives of the future”.
The Shadow Board will meet at least four times a year. Members will sit for 18 months, and the Chair for 2 years. The Chair will be elected at the Shadow Board’s first meeting early next year.
We are pleased to post HC2’s press release about the sale of Global Marine Systems Limited’s share in Huawei Marine to Hengtong. The joint venture has seen tremendous growth since its formation and has made a substantial impact in the subsea telecommunications industry. We are proud to have played a part in driving Huawei Marine’s extraordinary growth and wish the company and its new majority owner Hengtong every success in the future.
– Sale pegs HMN equity value at $285 million –
– Global Marine Group’s 49% interest valued at $140 million –
– HC2 continues to advance strategic alternatives for Global Marine subsidiary –
New York, New York – October 30, 2019 – HC2 Holdings, Inc. (“HC2” or the “Company”) (NYSE: HCHC), a diversified holding company, announced today that its Marine Services Segment, Global Marine Group (“GMG”), a leading provider of offshore engineering services to the telecommunications, oil & gas, and renewables industries, has agreed to a sale of its stake in Huawei Marine Networks Co., Limited (“HMN”), its 49% joint venture with Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (“Huawei”), to Hengtong Optic-Electric Co Ltd (“Hengtong”). The sale of GMG’s interest values HMN at $285 million, and GMG’s 49% stake at approximately $140 million.
Under the agreement, GMG will sell 30% of HMN to Hengtong at closing and retain a 19% interest in HMN under a two-year put option agreement at the greater of the same equity value ($285mm) or fair market value. Hengtong is also purchasing Huawei’s full 51% stake and will own 81% of the joint venture upon the closing of both sales, and 100% upon the exercise of GMG’s put option. Completion of the sale is expected during the first quarter of 2020, subject to customary closing conditions, with proceeds delivered to GMG at that time. After satisfaction of any pending obligations and in concert with any sale of Global Marine Systems Limited (“GMSL”), HC2’s share of the net proceeds from the HMN sale will be utilized to reduce debt at the HC2 holding company level.
“We are very pleased at the outcome of the joint venture sales process,” said Philip Falcone, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of HC2. “We want to thank our partners at Huawei, with whom we have had a great working relationship since our acquisition of GMG five years ago, for successfully growing the joint venture and completing over 98 projects globally since inception. Inking this deal now further sets the stage for a potential sale of GMG, including the main operating subsidiary, Global Marine Systems Limited, which continues to be a top priority for us as we close out 2019.”
Global Offshore, a leading provider of cable installation, repair and trenching services to the offshore renewables, utilities and oil & gas markets, will be working with Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) on their Pentland Firth East power cable installation project.
The Pentland Firth is a strait separating the Orkney Islands from Caithness in the north of Scotland. The new 35km, 33kV power cable will connect mainland Scotland to Hoy, the second largest of the Orkney Isles, replacing one of two existing cables serving the islands, which has been in operation for more than 30 years. Initial works will be completed before the end of the year and include route survey, data collection and studies which will form part of the marine licence application for the cable installation. Following on from the preparatory works, Global Offshore anticipate cable installation utilising the Global Symphony will be undertaken in early spring next year.
Mike Daniel, Managing Director of Global Offshore said, “We’re pleased to be extending our working relationship with SSEN for this prestigious installation project, which is a critical piece of the overall power infrastructure network in Scotland. From our base in Aberdeen, our experienced project engineers and vessel crews will be working closely with the team at SSEN to seamlessly execute yet another vital project.”
John Buchan, Head of Subsea Cable Projects at Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks commented, “SSEN operates and maintains the electricity network that serves over 3.8 million homes and businesses across northern Scotland, the Highlands & Islands, and central southern England. Having successfully worked together with Global Offshore on a range of power cable replacement projects over the last 18 months as part of a wider framework agreement, we’re confident that together we can deliver this project to enhance the service that we provide to our customers across these remote regions.”
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.
Chelmsford, Thursday 21 March 2019. Global Marine Group’s Global Offshore division, a leading provider of cable installation, repair and trenching services to the offshore renewables, utilities and oil & gas markets, will soon begin work on a significant project with leading offshore wind power developer and operator Vattenfall. The contract will see Global Offshore completing the inter array cable installation, burial, testing and termination at the 72 turbine Danish Kriegers Flak site, located in the Baltic Sea.
Installation work will be completed by the Global Symphony, a vessel proficient in the installation of inter array cables, supported by the Group’s extensive fleet. The project will be engineered and executed by Global Offshore’s experienced team, who have completed over 23 offshore wind farm cable projects, including most recently work at Kincardine, Merkur and the Rampion Offshore Wind Farms.
Global Offshore’s work on site will begin with boulder clearance utilising a brand new, multi-function pre-lay and backfill subsea plough. Commissioned from Osbit Limited, with delivery to coincide with the project commencement, the plough minimises the operational risk and time required to install subsea cables utilising unrivalled single pass capability that delivers boulder clearance and pre-trenching up to 1.7m, in a single run.
Mike Daniel, Managing Director of Global Offshore, commented, “We’re extremely pleased to be working with Vattenfall on this milestone project at what will be Denmark’s largest offshore wind farm, producing enough energy to power over half a million homes. As a Group, we have a combined track record of over 850 power cable installations, working in both the offshore renewables and oil & gas markets. Once completed, the installations at this important offshore wind farm will push that tally close to 1,000 power cable installations. Our team’s work will be begin on site in summer 2019 with boulder clearance along the cable installation route utilising our new pre-lay plough, which is an exciting new tool for our subsea business.”
Mr. Daniel continued, “We’re equally pleased to be working with our CWind colleagues within the Global Marine Group who will be completing the cable pull-in activities on site. This key renewable project showcases the value and strength of the whole Group, and our collaborative and complimentary offering which combines wide-ranging experience in multiple offshore sectors, all supported by technical knowledge and recognised engineering capabilities.”
In 2019, the focus of International Women’s Day is about balance. Balance drives a better world. We want to celebrate women’s achievements, help raise awareness against bias and take action for equality to help forge a more gender-balanced world. Here are just a handful of our fantastic Global Marine Group teams that we have working right across the globe.
“I work as part of the UJ Sales team, working on anything from providing quotations to placing and dispatching the orders and preparing the invoices to customers globally. I enjoy being part of the UJ team here at Global Marine, and being part of a company that plays such an important role in our global communication network.” Maria, UJ Sales Administrator
“I’ve been employed as Procurement Officer at GMG for just over 7 months now. My career was previously in the non-ferrous metals industry which is typically very male dominated. Since starting in London in 1988 I progressed from being a receptionist through to trading room order desk supervisor, client liaison and then to the more specialised area of Islamic Finance, where I reached senior management level. In 2013 I decided to re-evaluate my work/life balance and working locally lead me into the Marine industry. I have been fortunate that the companies I have worked for have all embraced equal opportunity and supported those who had the confidence and ability to achieve their potential. This is one of the main reasons that I was so keen to work with GMG as I see the same ethic here.” Louise, Procurement Officer
“Working on the CTVs is an enjoyable and unique environment for women. I really love working in a team, on all kinds of projects at sea, to achieve great things together.” Emma, Crew Transfer Vessel Mate
“I’m currently on the Cable Retriever as 2nd Officer. I had a busy watch last night with lots of traffic, then this morning I was up for stations to bring the vessel alongside in Subic Bay, Philippines. I am training two female Deck Cadets, Elise and Serena; they spent the morning driving cranes to load stores and helped the deck crew discharge cable. We all really enjoy life at sea.” Kaya, 2nd Officer onboard the Cable Retriever
“I’ve worked across various industries throughout my career in marketing, but I really do love working in an engineering organisation that plays such an integral part in keeping our world connected. GMG is a business committed to empowering people to be everything that they want to be, and I’m proud as well to be a part of a team that cares about the communities we work with, supporting charities and initiatives such as the Orphanage and JST.” Gail, Director of Marketing
(Clockwise from centre: Maria, Louise, Emma, Kaya, Gail)
Subsea technology company, Rovco has formed an invested partnership with Global Marine Group (GMG) an innovative market leader in offshore engineering, to bring intelligent inspection, repair and maintenance (IRM) solutions to the global offshore market.
GMG, made up of three business units – Global Offshore, CWind and Global Marine – has secured a 13.8% share in the Bristol and Aberdeen based remotely operated vehicle (ROV) and hydrographic services business. The partnership will see both companies work together to deliver a range of efficient, high-quality subsea solutions to improve data acquisition.
Rovco’s latest development, SubSLAM, which replaces standard video inspection with live 3D reconstruction technology, to obtain an accurate picture of subsea assets and environments, will be deployed from GMG’s fleet of 21 specialised crew transfer vessels. GMG’s eight cable installation and maintenance vessels which are strategically located across the globe will also be able to support IRM projects.
SubSLAM enhances the accuracy and repeatability of subsea inspection, producing submillimetric data, and providing actionable information that reduces human error. Leveraging existing and active vessels, the partnership will also streamline multiple services and optimise current offshore operations to drive down costs and increase efficiencies. The mutually-beneficial partnership will enable both Rovco and GMG to serve a wider range of customers beyond their established industries.
Following the invested partnership, Mike Daniel, Managing Director of Global Offshore, part of the Global Marine Group joined Rovco’s Board of Directors. He commented: “Our partnership with Rovco enables us to continually evolve our client-centric subsea solutions. By utilising a combination of innovation and engineering excellence, we can deliver a greater range of services to enhance our customers’ operations, worldwide.”
Brian Allen, Founder and CEO of Rovco said: “This is a large step towards improving the efficiency of offshore IRM campaigns. We have industry leading data quality and the intelligence acquired will support pre-emptive asset maintenance and fault prediction, enabling customers to easily predict asset lifespan and corrosion or depletion rates. The partnership brings with it the creation of important synergies that will lead to the development of even more innovative solutions to benefit the offshore industry for years to come.”
Global Marine, a market leader in subsea fibre optic cable installation and maintenance solutions to the telecoms and oil & gas sectors, and part of the Global Marine Group, announced today the successful completion of two fibre optic cable installations, bringing vital high speed connectivity to two UK North Sea and two Norwegian Sector oil & gas platforms. The projects, awarded to Global Marine by Tampnet, an operator of high capacity communication networks in the North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, serving more than 240 oil & gas platforms, floating production storage and offloading facilities and exploration rigs across the globe, are designed to further enhance inter oil-field communication networks in the North Sea.
Spanning a period of just over 18 months, Global Marine’s scope of work included the desktop study, marine survey, and lay and burial of just under 100 kilometres of fibre optic cable. The Company’s engineering team were responsible for the deployment of a Cable End Module, mattress and rock placement as well as interfacing with the various subsea asset owners to secure the appropriate site access and crossing approvals.
The projects, which were delivered ahead of planned delivery dates, also called for the installation of a further four Branching Units at selected locations along the cable route, which allows for future expansion of the system to other platforms.
“It is a testament to Global Marine’s superior capabilities that Tampnet has continued to choose Global Marine as a consistent partner on multiple projects since 2014,” said Bruce Neilson-Watts, Managing Director of Global Marine. “Our team’s flawless execution of this project further reinforces our reputation as a leading partner for complex subsea projects and sets the stage for Global Marine and Tampnet to continue their long-term relationship.”
Per Helge Svensson, Chief Executive Officer, Tampnet added, “Global Marine has delivered yet another first class project. Tampnet is very content with the execution and the work performed, which is building on the already strong relationship between Global Marine and Tampnet.”
Global Marine Group has been issued a prestigious award in recognition of its practices and achievements in helping its employees, clients and contractors get home safely at the end of every working day.
Global Marine Group has achieved an Order of Distinction (19 consecutive Golds) in the internationally-renowned RoSPA Health and Safety Awards, the longest-running industry awards scheme in the UK.
The RoSPA Awards scheme, which receives entries from organisations around the world, recognises achievement in health and safety management systems, including practices such as leadership and workforce involvement.
Julia Small, RoSPA’s head of qualifications, awards and events, said: “The RoSPA Awards are the most highly-respected in the health and safety arena, with almost 2,000 entrants every year, and allow organisations to prove excellence in the workplace, demonstrating a commitment to the wellbeing of not only employees but all those who interact with it.”
For more information about the RoSPA Awards visit www.rospa.com/awards
