Osbit Limited, the offshore technology and engineering company, has secured a contract with Global Marine Group to supply an advanced multi-function pre-lay and backfill subsea plough.
The plough, named Scion 240, represents the fourth major trenching system contract Osbit has secured in two years and will deliver a step-change in ploughing technology.
The Scion 240 reduces the cost of offshore wind by minimising the operational risk and the time required to install subsea cables. The system offers unrivalled single pass capability delivering 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 system is fully subsea adjustable and features an extensive surveillance suite for accurate route tracking and effective trenching. This extensive functionality is provided through Osbit’s class-leading control technology, which consists of an open source modular system incorporating Osbit Integrated Logistics Support (OILS) asset monitoring, packaged in an ergonomic control cabin.
The Scion 240 can also 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 has an extensive track record in the design, build and modification of subsea vehicles, with subsea heritage spanning many decades. Osbit engineers have played key roles in the early development of subsea vehicles and have also been involved in more recent technological breakthroughs in this area.
The Scion 240 plough is being designed and built in North-East England and will be delivered from Osbit’s Blyth works at the end of May 2019. Osbit will support Global Marine Group and their customer with sea trials and be available to assist Scion 240 as it commences work on its first project later in the summer.
Osbit Director Robbie Blakeman said: “We are absolutely delighted to have been selected by Global Marine Group to deliver this project, which demonstrates our commitment to developing innovative subsea trenching solutions. Osbit has proven its capability in delivering subsea vehicles and we are proud to be realising the future of ploughing technology with this technically compelling system, built on our proven subsea technology, which offers Global Marine Group real differentiation in the market.
“This project is a great case study showcasing our unique working practices. We collaborated with the Global Marine Group team and its customer to develop an appropriately engineered solution that is both operationally and commercially effective. Our team is also working closely with our fantastic supply chain, which is predominantly based in the North East.
We are hard at work and looking forward to delivering the completed system On Spec, to Budget and In Time”.
Martyn Drye, Director of Engineering at Global Marine Group, said “The Scion 240 Plough is an exciting new subsea tool for our business; offering boulder clearance and pre-trenching in a single pass is an industry-first. Our team of in-house engineers, working closely with Osbit, developed this solution, which delivers not only for our significant inaugural project, but also for the long-term, meeting the needs of our customers in multiple sectors. We’re excited to receive the Plough in Q2, 2019, and begin work towards the summer, later this year.”
About Osbit
Osbit is an offshore technology company, with an extensive global track record in the development of cutting-edge equipment for back-deck and subsea applications. Osbit’s engineers design and build bespoke equipment, primarily for use in the offshore wind, oil & gas and subsea industries. The company specialises in developing appropriately engineered solutions and delivering them ‘On Spec, to Budget and In Time – also known as the OSBIT standard. Osbit develops and delivers engineering in a diverse range of technology streams, including subsea trenching, offshore access, well intervention and pipe & cable lay. The company’s head office is in Northumberland, UK and it also operates an assembly and loadout facility, based at Port of Blyth.
For more information about Osbit, please visit our website at www.osbit.com.
About Global Marine Group
The Global Marine Group (“GMG”) is a market leader in offshore engineering and is recognised as a high quality, independent strategic partner across multiple sectors. GMG consists of three business units; Global Marine, providing fibre optic cable solutions to the telecommunications and oil & gas markets, CWind providing topside, splash zone and subsea engineering services to the offshore renewables and utilities market and Global Offshore delivering cable installation, repair and trenching services to the offshore renewables, utilities and oil & gas markets.
GMG is in a unique position, owning one of the world’s largest offshore support vessel fleets including four specialist cable installation and repair vessels, four maintenance vessels and 18 owned CTVs. The company has installed over 300,000 kilometres of subsea cable, which is around 21% of the total installed worldwide.
The Group boasts a number of industry achievements, from installing the first subsea cable in 1850, being part of the consortium that invented the universal joint, and right through to today, finding solutions for client challenges such as blade repair for offshore wind turbines.
The Group aspires to achieve its vision ‘Engineering a clean and connected future’.
For more information about the Global Marine Group, Global Marine, CWind and Global Offshore, please visit our websites at www.globalmarine.group, www.globalmarine.co.uk, www.cwind.global andwww.globaloffshore.co.uk.
