Top Interviews of 2017

In 2017 Subsea World News team spoke with some of the biggest names in this large industry which is now expanding to deliver its technology know-how to other sectors while it expects the new oil market environment to start picking up in the near future.

As the activity shifted for oil, subsea power and telco cables manufacturers and services providers as well as subsea robotics companies were eager to talk about their projects as these industry sectors are rapidly rising.

We interviewed companies such as Global Marine, providers of engineering and underwater services, responding to the subsea cable installation, maintenance and burial requirements of its customers around the world, and Aquabotix, a provider of underwater drones and cameras for commercial and military applications.

We also spoke to subsea cables specialist JDR prior to their acquisition by TELE-FONIKA Kable (TFKable), and SubCom, a global supplier of undersea communications technology and marine services.

Global Marine Invests in Innovation and Its People.

In an interview with Subsea World News Global Marine’s Chief Executive Officer, Ian Douglas, told us more about the company and its future plans.

“Our track record is what differentiates us from the competition. To date, we’ve installed over 300,000 kilometres of subsea fibre optic cable. This amounts to 21 percent of the total global subsea fibre optic cable currently installed, firmly cementing our market position.

“Our position in telecoms remains strong, we have longstanding contracts in place with our trusted partners in maintenance, and Global Marine also has a backlog of project commitments well into next year and beyond.

We are extremely pleased with these robust activity levels and we are committed to achieving the right approach to innovation, personnel and technology to meet customer demands. We will continue our evolution with their goals in mind and in meeting their goals, we will reach our own.”

Aquabotix to Deliver Underwater Drone for Consumer Market

Subsea World News spoke with Durval Tavares, the co-founder and then a CEO (now a CTO) of Aquabotix, a provider of underwater drones and cameras for commercial and military applications.

In an email interview, Mr Tavares explained how he decided to start the company, and unveiled the next steps in the company’s development.

“My combined passions for technology, engineering and the ocean led to the creation of Aquabotix, the publicly traded underwater robotics company. Based in Fall River, Massachusetts, Aquabotix manufactures commercial and industrial-grade underwater drones and underwater cameras for commercial and military applications.

“We ultimately remain concentrated on continuing to rollout innovative products over the coming months and years that will help accelerate the growth of Aquabotix and further contribute to the underwater robotics industry.”

JDR Targets US Offshore Renewables

Subsea World News spoke with David Currie, chief executive officer of JDR Cables – the winner of this year’s Subsea UK Global Exports award.

During our talk at Subsea Expo 2017 exhibition and conference, Currie told us about JDR’s plans for its new facility in Newcastle. We also discussed the company’s involvement in the offshore renewable energy industry and its plans for expansion into new markets and regions.

“The renewable market, when you think back 10 years ago, did not exist, so today you’re looking at a viable, growing industry that is beating the cost challenge.

“It still has huge potential to grow further in Europe and at JDR we recognize that. I think it will develop in the USA and the Far East too.

“For a company like JDR, who provides umbilical and cable technology, we see both the oil and gas and renewable markets converging which is part of our success.

“The oil and gas sector will come back, and I don’t think that, for us, it’s a competing market with renewables, as it’s moving towards a very coherent joint market.”

TE SubCom Aims Towards New Acheivements

Subsea World News has spoken to Debra Brask, vice president, project management, TE SubCom, about the company’s current and future projects.

To date, SubCom deployed more than 100 cable systems and enough subsea cable to circle the Earth more than 15 times at the equator.

“As a company, we constantly push ourselves towards new levels of technical acheivement. SubCom’s commitment to innovation is motivated by its history, which dates back to the 1900s and includes the deployment of TAT-1, the first submarine transatlantic telephone cable system.

“Only a few companies in the world can approach what we do, yet we continue to break records for capacity, speed, and distance because we’re never complacent about our unique position in the industry.”

Subsea World News Staff