Member Article

Darlington’s Subsea Innovation completes major refurbishment of Launch and Recovery System

Subsea Innovation, a subsea equipment supplier based in Darlington, is continuing to grow its service capability following the successful refurbishment of a Launch and Recovery System (LARS) for a major offshore oil & gas contractor.

Already a key player in the manufacture of LARS and Tether Management Systems (TMS), as well as subsea sealing systems, pipeline repair systems and waterstop seals, Subsea Innovation is helping its clients to extend the life of their existing assets.

By using all of its industry and product experience, the company is offering refurbishment services to a variety of LARS and TMS’s manufactured by themselves or others.

In its most recent project, the company undertook the complete strip down of the Launch and Recovery System at its new, purpose‐built manufacturing facility.

The LARS was originally manufactured by Subsea Innovation in 1999 and has been in active service since then, highlighting the longevity of the engineering and product design utilised.

The workscope included detailed inspection, manufacture of new components, NDT and structural repair,shot blasting and painting as well as extensive load testing.

The system, which will be used to deploy remotely operated vehicles for subsea work around the world, was turned around in under six weeks and delivered to the client on time.

In addition to this, another significant milestone has recently been met by Subsea Innovation as the company confirms it has now delivered over 100 Launch and Recovery Systems to major offshore operators across the globe.

This success stems from over 25 years of industry experience, formerly as Tekmar Subsea Ltd, rebranding to Subsea Innovation in 2012 on the sale of a sister company.

The opening of the company’s newly built 40,000sq ft. headquarters in September 2014 means Subsea Innovation can now design, build, overhaul and test larger systems with greater efficiency.

Since 2012, when Managing Director Martin Moon was appointed, Subsea Innovation has gone through a period of significant growth and success.

Turnover exceeded £10m for the first time in 2013 and the forecast for 2015 is to break this record. The business, which was running with 30 employees in 2012, now employs over 50 multi‐disciplined staff, including several apprentices, with opportunities for further growth.

Martin Moon, Managing Director at Subsea Innovation, said: “I am delighted to be building on our current capability with the addition of our LARS and TMS refurbishment services.

“This means we are nowable to help our clients extend the life of their current assets and with the current offshore oil and gas market conditions, we expect there will be more demand for this.”