Offshore Marine Management (OMM) has entered into a long-term collaboration with the developer of cable monitoring and subsea systems North Sea Systems (NSS) to bring the CableFish monitoring tool to the market.
CableFish Touchdown Monitoring Tool was engineered to overcome issues with damage and suspension during cable installation, as well as to reduce delays and expense, by providing continuous visual and position monitoring of the cable touchdown point at a fraction of the cost of a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), according to OMM – subsea services provider for offshore renewables sector.
The announcement comes at an important time for the offshore renewables industry, which has been identified as a vital point of focus for Britain as its exit from the EU approaches.
A major report by the Government Office for Science Foresight, Future of the Sea, has estimated that the value of the world’s oceans is set to double to £2.14 trillion by 2030, but that the UK will miss out if it continues to rely on traditional industries such as oil and gas.
Instead, innovations in emerging sectors such as offshore renewable energy could pave the way to economic growth, echoing the message of BEIS’ Clean Growth Strategy launched at the end of last year.
As reported earlier, the developers of the MeyGen tidal array project said in a report for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) that ROVs were found not to be suited for the conditions at the site at Pentland Firth, and that using a different cable monitoring system, such as CableFish, to guide the cable lay process would have been beneficial.
Rob Grimmond , Managing Director of OMM, said: “In order to harness the potential for economic growth offered by the industry, it continually demands innovation to be competitive and safe in changing environments. Working with NSS to offer CableFish has the potential to help make this possible.”