An Aberdeen subsea engineering firm has won a £3million contract to design and build a 1,500-ton carousel for use in the offshore wind industry.
Ecosse Subsea Systems (ESS) said the equipment would be used by an un-named international infrastructure group to store spare cables required for UK offshore windfarm projects.
The unit will be “located at a strategic north east port for fast deployment”, the firm added.
The carousel will have the capability to be upgraded to 2,000 tons and will be designed by ESS engineers at their Banchory headquarters and partially manufactured at subsidiary firm Masfab in County Durham.
The deal follows the acquisition by Bibby Offshore of an 800-ton ESS carousel which had earlier been deployed by a major utility company on a UK windfarm construction project.
Mo Petrie, ESS operations director, said: “This will be the second storage carousel we have built but over the last few years we have developed our expertise in the design and construction of large carousels traditionally used in seabed operations.
“The carousel will be designed so that the capacity can be upgraded to store additional cables on demand. The contract also includes provision for operating the carousel on behalf of the client and the training of their personnel.
“The client is a major player in large-scale infrastructure projects and is active on a number of UK offshore wind projects, which dovetails with our own diversification in to the renewables sector.
“Our design and engineering experience is being used not only in asset building for major renewables projects like this, but elsewhere in the supply chain where we are prominent in providing seabed preparation and route clearance services in the early stages of offshore windfarm construction.”
Established in Aberdeen in 1996, ESS designs, develops, builds, hires and operates a range of subsea equipment. Clients include: ABB, Bibby Offshore, BP North Sea, CNR International, DONG Energy, Eon Renewables, Prysmian Group, Shell Exploration and Production, Siem Offshore Contractors and Subsea 7.
