Global Marine Energy, Inc., announces the opening of its office in Boston, Massachusetts. The company is an American-owned licensee of Global Marine Systems Ltd, the market leading offshore cable installation and marine engineering company. For over 160 years Global Marine has been successfully installing cable throughout the world’s oceans, and for the past decade has been involved in many of the offshore wind projects that have been completed in the North Sea.
“Our lengthy experience in the installation of telecommunications cables led directly to our developing an expertise in offshore power cable,” says Gabriel Ruhan, CEO of Global Marine Systems. “We are proud to have been involved in the installation of cables on such projects as Horns Rev, Horns Rev 2, Kentish Flats, Estlink, and Britned. With interest in offshore wind and offshore power cable interconnects beginning to take shape in North America, we have decided to license our know-how and subcontract our experts to an American company, Global Marine Energy, Inc., to address these markets as well.”
Global Marine Systems—and now Global Marine Energy—believes that many of the issues that have plagued the industry in Europe can be avoided in North America through proper planning and demonstrated experience. Offshore power cable installation has been particularly troublesome in the North Sea resulting in cost overruns, insurance losses, and the failure of a number of companies who had made the decision to enter the market. The types of problems that have regularly occurred are often in the areas of installation procedure, resulting in cable damage and installation delay due to lack of installer experience and the use of improper equipment.
“Our goal is to transfer the best practices developed over the past decade in European offshore wind,” says Joel Whitman, CEO of Global Marine Energy. “We can then use that expertise to develop American and Canadian personnel, equipment, and vessels in order to correctly plan and install the offshore cable plant required for North American projects. Since we are an American-owned company, we can do this in full compliance with the Jones Act and other U.S. regulation.”
Over the past decade approximately 4 gigawatts (4,000 megawatts) of offshore wind power have been installed in European waters. With an additional 15 gigawatts already consented and an estimated 25-50 gigawatts in the planning stages, the European market is well underway. With both offshore wind and interconnect projects in the planning stages up and down the East Coast and in the Great Lakes, the North American market is beginning to move forward. To learn more go online to www.globalmarine-energy.com.
