Global Marine Systems Re-enters Power Market

In a major industry announcement, Global Marine Systems Limited, the UK headquartered world leader in subsea cable route design, installation and maintenance, is re-entering the power market after a brief absence.

As of 16 November 2015, Global Marine will once again be available to offshore renewables and power market customers, bringing power and fibre optic connectivity to their systems. In fact, the company is already celebrating its first contract win, an inter-array project at the Wikinger offshore wind farm in German waters, which is due for completion in 2016-17. The placement of the order is a demonstration of the confidence in Global Marine’s proven heritage in the power market, both for offshore wind farm installations and subsea power and interconnector installation projects, in which the company has history dating back to 1987.

Despite Global Marine’s three-year absence from the power market, the company can boast numerous successes in a series of landmark projects. For instance, in the past 15 years Global Marine has completed subsea cable installations at wind farms off the coast of the UK, as well as several sites in waters close to the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark.

In 2002, for example, the company installed 64 km of cable at Horns Rev, Denmark, Europe’s first commercial wind farm. Global Marine was responsible for installing and burying power cables up to two metres below the seabed and making 160 cable connections for the wind farm’s 80 turbines. Similarly, three years later, Global Marine installed the cables for the UK’s first commercial wind farm at Kentish Flats, an array of 30 turbines off the coast at Herne Bay. More recently, the company has worked on a number of notable wind farm projects, including London Array, Thornton Bank and Global Tech 1.

Today, Global Marine’s customers can benefit from the company’s vessel, C.S. Sovereign, which is equipped with a pair of powered 2,300 tonne ‘basket’ turntables. These are designed to operate at a linear speed of 900 m/hour, thus optimising the cost-efficiency of cable-laying.

Beyond the offshore wind sector, Global Marine has a long and successful history in power cable installation. The company is able to provide testimony regarding a number of completed high profile contracts, including platform-to-platform, shore-to-platform and shore-to-shore projects.

For example, in 2006, Global Marine undertook a landmark project that witnessed the installation and burial of the Estlink cable in the Baltic Sea, providing an interconnector between Finland and Estonia. Four years later, the company completed the direct shore end landing and lay of two power cables at the EMEC tidal test site at Eday, Orkney Islands, as well as one new power cable at EMEC’s wave test site at nearby Billia Croo.

“Although we are announcing our re-entry into the power market, we are far from a newcomer in this important sector – Global Marine can bring expertise and experience stretching back several decades, gained from working on some of the highest profile power market and offshore wind projects in the world,” says CEO, Ian Douglas.

Global Marine can provide a unique mix offer to its clients – both a rich heritage in installations with over 300,000 km of laid cable (23% of the world’s total), but also a commitment to developing innovative solutions utilising the company’s engineering capability to adapt to each project’s specific needs. Investment in the latest technologies, process and training means that Global Marine’s in-house engineering expertise is able to bring the very latest solutions to the modern era subsea industry.

“We are committed to moving forward in line with the demands of the market,” adds Mr Douglas. “Continuous improvement and progress are the company’s goals, as these are of direct benefit to our customers. As a business we have diversified successfully in recent years into markets that include deep sea research, oil and gas, and now renewables. The award of the Wikinger contract demonstrates market confidence in our ability to deliver a professional, timely and cost effective solution to customer requirements.”