Major Port client Global Offshore, a leading provider of cable installation, repair and trenching services to the offshore renewables, utilities and oil & gas markets, and part of the Global Marine Group, is to offer a permanent cable storage facility in Blyth.
Strategically located at the Port’s Battleship Wharf terminal, the 2,000-tonne capacity power cable carousel offers Global Offshore increased operational flexibility with short-term, local cable storage, reduced mobilisation times and improved cost efficiencies for their customers.
The port, where cable-lay vessels Normand Clipper and Global Symphony are frequently mobilised, has become an operational hub for Aberdeen-based Global Offshore in recent years with the company sighting the port’s location on the northeast coast as ideal for the company’s wealth of campaigns in the North Sea.
The new carousel, which is equipped with a 10-tonne tensioner to ensure effective cable handling from vessel to shore, and back, also offers short-term options for clients requiring reliable cable storage on the northeast coast of England.
Mike Daniel, Managing Director at Global Offshore, said,
“Expanding our presence at the Port of Blyth, the introduction of our new cable storage carousel enables us to reduce cable transportation costs as well as offering quicker mobilisation to aid our regular offshore operations in the North Sea.
“The facility also affords us the ability to monitor and maintain these precious assets closer to our operational base on site, to ensure they are ready and available for use on installation and maintenance projects at short notice.”
The first loading of the carousel took place earlier this month from the Global Symphony, which had returned to the port after a seven-day umbilical installation campaign in the North Sea.
Martin Lawlor, Chief Executive at Port of Blyth, said,
“We’re delighted to be supporting one of our major customers with the installation of what will no doubt be a well-used cable storage facility, especially given the Port’s strategic North Sea location. The installation adds to our supply chain capabilities and strengthens our position as an offshore energy hub.”
With a host of cable campaigns in the North Sea lined-up for 2021 and beyond, Global Offshore’s new cable carousel is one of many recent additions to the company’s asset portfolio that will be utilised for oil & gas and renewables projects in the future.
