Global Marine Group (GMG), supported by its business units Global Marine, Global Offshore and CWind, has signed a framework agreement for cable repair with leading offshore wind farm developer and operator Ørsted.
Under the framework, Global Marine Group will carry out inter array cable replacement and repairs on Ørsted’s UK offshore wind farms, using UK vessels.
The framework becomes a part of the Atlantic Cable Maintenance Agreement (ACMA), a non-profit cooperative cable maintenance agreement allowing shared services of vessels to enable cost effective and rapid cable replacement and repair for all members, largely telecoms and Oil and Gas.
Under the ACMA Agreement, delivered by GMG alongside zone partner Orange Marine, Ørsted has access to the C.S. Sovereign, and should the Sovereign be unavailable, this agreement extends Ørsted’s access to other assets in the Group’s fleet including the Global Symphony, ASV Pioneer and CTVs for ancillary services.
Ørsted will be the first renewable energy member of ACMA, bringing in almost 900km of subsea array cables from Ørsted’s UK offshore wind farm portfolio.
Benj Sykes, UK Country Manager for Ørsted’s offshore activities said: It’s clear we need to decarbonise our energy system urgently, and offshore wind will play a large part in that. Thanks to the Sector Deal, by 2030 around a third of our electricity could come from offshore wind. As we construct more and more offshore wind farms we must work with other seabed users, such as the telecoms industry, to find solutions that work for all.
“Many of our wind farm sites operate in close proximity to telecoms cables already installed on the seabed, so we are delighted to sign this framework agreement with GMG, which has experience of working with both fibre optic and power cables. By joining ACMA we will also benefit from the depth of their collective resources, bringing cost-effective and rapid repairs for our UK cables, and ultimately helping to bring down the cost of offshore wind.”
Ian Douglas, CEO at Global Marine Group, said: This is a pioneering commercial and technical approach to power cable maintenance and repair, and we believe will set the blueprint for the future of combined cable and subsea asset agreements which brings about benefits for everyone across multiple industries.
“With Ørsted joining ACMA, this contract brings a step change in the collaboration of cable owners across multiple sectors, and enhanced services to all seabed users, enabling a deeper understanding of the way telecoms and offshore wind industries use the seabed. We’re delighted to welcome the global leader in offshore wind into the ACMA family, and look forward to marrying this historic telecom experience with the Group’s power cable experience associated with our participation in the post-millennium offshore renewables boom.”
Alasdair Wilkie, Chairman at ACMA commented, “ACMA is a non-profit co-operative subsea maintenance agreement consisting of 60+ organisations in the Atlantic, North Sea and South Eastern Pacific Ocean. We’ve worked successfully with Global Marine for many years to address the needs of our members and are looking forward to sharing our best-practice within telecoms to help forge the future of power cable maintenance.”
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