An East Anglian cooperation between MarineSpace (Norwich, Norfolk) and Suffolk Survey & Subsea Services (S⁴ – Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk) has recently completed client representative provision to assist a client in the supervision of the, currently, longest submarine power cable prelay survey in the North Sea.

The project supervision totalled 5,575-man hours between April and September 2020, and included an onshore lead client representative, 12hr landfall & intertidal, 12hr nearshore, and two representatives for 24hr offshore operations. A total requirement, therefore, for 5 client representative roles, but with several crew change requirements throughout the operations, as the marine surveys passed through the waters of four countries within the southern and mid North Sea basin.

The project involved hydrographic and geophysical pre-lay surveys within the route corridor, and Work Class ROV inspections/depth of burial surveys of up to 48 in-service crossings along the route.

Conducted during the current COVID-19 pandemic, the project was completed utilising full risk assessment and mitigation measures/protocols with no positive tests reported throughout the near 6-month duration.

The Client Project Manager commented on the collaboration’s performance, stating, “We were positively impressed by the operation of the MarineSpace/S4 resources addressed to the project. Considering the harsh environment and the unique scenario in which we were forced to perform this work, offshore reps and the onshore lead rep’s support was fundamental to achieve the project milestones and to keep it on track.”

The project comprised the fourth award of client representative support services to clients since the two companies forged their cooperative agreement in late 2019 – with previous supply of a geotechnical rep to the Polish Baltic for a 52 day Polish OWF borehole/drilling project, a 2 year contract for client support of geophysical reps to a UK OWF, and supply of geotechnical reps to a US OWF.

Phil Durrant, MD of MarineSpace said, “The strategic local cooperation with S⁴ has been a huge success to date with nearly 10,000-man hours of project supervision already provided to clients. Upon meeting with S⁴ in 2019, and our likeminded ethos to collaboration and services approach to the offshore energy sector, it was quickly apparent that we should work closely together. Our unique arrangement, with respect to who brings what to the table, ensures our clients have a differentiated and value-added service that one does not gain from a standard personnel agency supply. The cooperation also extends to submarine cable preparatory and installation supervision, while S4 has also supported us with submarine cable feasibility and critique studies, and other aspects of key support.”