Subsea 7 has said it is to hand its Aberdeen-based renewables division to a Dutch heavy lifting company it half owns.
The renewables division, set up in the Granite City two years ago this month and headed by Bob Dunsmore, is to be merged into Seaway Heavy Lifting (SHL).
Subsea 7 said the move would “rationalise Subsea 7’s offering to the renewables market” by bringing its engineering and project management skills to SHL’s offering.
Mr Dunsmore will be senior vice president renewable energy at SHL while Jan Willem van der Graaf, who was Subsea 7’s vice president renewable energy, will become chief executive of SHL.
Subsea 7 would not say how many staff it had in the division.
SHL was founded in 1992 as an offshore installation contractor, doing transport, installation and removal of offshore oil and gas platforms, subsea structures and the installation of wind turbine foundations and substations.
It has worked on the Greater Gabbard, Sheringham Shoal and Gwynt-y-Mor projects offshore UK and operates the crane vessels Stanislav Yudin and Oleg Strashnov.
Subsea 7 chief executive Jean Cahuzac said: “The combination of Subsea 7’s engineering, project management and offshore delivery expertise with SHL’s existing capability in transport and installation of marine structures will create a company with the resources to better compete in the growing offshore renewables sector.
“We look forward to demonstrating how this new combination can deliver an extended offering to clients in a safe and cost effective way.”