Subsea Micropiles installs first-of-its-kind offshore anchor for Orkney Harbour Authority

Following a period of intensive development with almost €12 million invested in R&D, Dublin headquartered Subsea Micropiles reached a major technical milestone with the installation of a commercial drilled and grouted "micropile" anchor solution for Orkney Harbour Authority (OHA) in Scotland.

The adaptation of micropiling technology to the offshore sector poses a highly beneficial disruption to the industry. Using smaller vessels and remote seabed drilling systems, large construction jobs can be more reliably completed with lower cost, minimal environmental impact and high local content.

The approach led by Subsea Micropiles provides a scalable industrial solution for large projects including offshore wind, both fixed and floating structures.  Foundation designs can be adapted for high load regimes across a wide range of soil conditions.

Jim Buck, Harbourmaster at OHA commented: "The technical solution that has been developed by Subsea Micropiles has exceptional potential to become critical infrastructure for floating offshore wind in Scotland.”

“The Orkney Harbour Authority is pleased to become an ‘early adopter’ in order to support innovation like this in the marine industry – and we will now explore opportunities for its use, whether that be as a mooring point for our tug fleet or uses around offshore wind in the future.”

CEO at Subsea Micropiles, Derek Robertson added "I am very proud to recognise the pioneering achievements of our team who are introducing a full-solution and service capability to the market. We have invested heavily in the design of micropiled structures, development of new subsea drilling equipment, and the implementation of highly productive drilling technology with our industry partners at Mincon. I am grateful for the interest and outstanding support from OHA as well as our suppliers in Orkney and beyond."

Ends.

Notes to Editors

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Georgina Hay, georgina@boldstmedia.com

Photo

Mobilisation of drill rig from Lyness, Hoy

Team photo during installation at Scapa Flow

About Orkney Harbour Authority

Marine Services – or the Orkney Harbour Authority - a division of Orkney Islands Council is the Competent Harbour Authority (CHA) responsible for the safe and efficient operation of the 29 piers and harbours located throughout the Orkney Islands under their jurisdiction and operate under the principles set out in the Port Marine Safety Code.

The range of ports and harbours within Marine Services are both varied and diverse; from the Oil Port of Scapa Flow that hosts multiple ship to ship transfer operations of crude oil and vessels serving the Flotta Oil Terminal, to the major harbours of Kirkwall, Hatston and Stromness that handle our cruise and cargo vessels, to the remote island facilities of North and South Isles which receive almost daily lifeline services from our fleet of 13 Inter Island Ferries carrying over 320,000 passengers annually.

About Subsea Micropiles

Subsea Micropiles Ltd. is leading the adaptation of terrestrial micropiling technology to the

offshore construction sector for high-performance seabed foundations and anchors. It

supports a wide range of applications to include increasingly larger offshore wind turbines

for both fixed and floating platforms.

Find out more at: subseamicropiles.com