Scottish marine specialist invests in subsea baskets

A leading Aberdeenshire marine equipment specialist has invested a six-figure sum in its subsea equipment in order to achieve industry standards.

Motive Offshore, which was launched in 2010 by James Gregg, Dave Acton and Bob Smit, and is headquartered in Boyndie, near Banff, in Aberdeenshire, has invested over £400,000 to develop its range of DNV GL certified multifunctional subsea baskets.

The significant investment has enabled the firm to implement improvements to its subsea basket range, and secure full certification to standard 2.7-3 from DNV GL – the leading technical advisor to the oil and gas industry.

The firm’s innovative baskets, which range from small tooling baskets to pipeline recovery baskets capable of retrieving up to 23 tonne payload, underwent prototype testing witnessed by DNV GL to ensure they are safe, reliable and efficient for the sector.

Motive Offshore now has one of the largest rental fleets of innovative and multifunctional subsea baskets in the industry, with its research and development department continually striving to develop its existing products and create new ones to meet customer requirements. The firm has a comprehensive catalogue of equipment, including subsea winches available for rental and sale, and is currently working on new products including a 50 tonne payload basket.

Operations director of Motive Offshore, Dave Acton, said: “DNV GL’s proactive approach to problem solving has proved invaluable during the recent refurbishment of our subsea basket rental fleet. As a business, we are fully committed to our clients, and we recognise that the market requirements are changing, with more assurances required. Over the last few months, we have worked with DNV GL to enhance the specifications of our baskets, and we can now provide the industry with a new generation of high quality subsea equipment.

“We are delighted that our designs have been approved and the fleet of baskets is now fully certified and ready to deploy to the international market on a rental or purchase basis, offering our customers a high-quality product, and also helping us to maintain a competitive advantage. We are also working with DNV GL on several other type approval projects for our baskets, offshore crash frames and lifting winches.”

Lead/Principal Surveyor at DNV GL, Stan Bruce, said: “It is always a pleasure to visit a company that is proactive in bringing new products to the market, especially a relatively new and expanding company, who are committed to innovation and continuous improvement.”

Motive Offshore, which now has over 80 employees across its three locations in Banff, Aberdeen and Stavanger, specialises in the manufacturing and rental of high capacity winches, wire rope spooling and inspection, umbilical deployment equipment and specialised subsea equipment. The firm services include in-house design engineering, fabrication, machining, assembly, testing and competent personnel for equipment installation and operations offshore.