Global Marine Group
Company typePrivate
IndustryTelecommunications Offshore Renewables, Oil & Gas
Founded1850, Became independent business in 1999
HeadquartersChelmsford, England, UK
Area served
Global
Number of employees
700
Websitewww.globalmarine.group

Global Marine Group is a British-headquartered specialist provider of installation, maintenance and repairs of submarine communications cable for the telecommunications, oil & gas and deep sea research industries. To this end, they operate their own a fleet of vessels, ROVs and specialised subsea trenching and burial equipment. Formerly known as Cable & Wireless Marine and British Telecom Marine, it was purchased by Global Crossing in 1999, at which time it received the name it carries today. In 2004, Global Marine Systems was purchased by Bridgehouse Marine and was completely restructured. In September 2014, Global Marine was acquired by HC2, and in 2020 by J F Lehman and partners.[1] [2] Historically, the company has a legacy of over 160 years of cable installation, stemming from the first telegraph cables laid in the 1850s.[citation needed]

Cable Ship Sovereign at anchor in the Solent

Global Marine has a worldwide presence, with offices in Chelmsford, UK and Singapore; depots in Portland, UK; Bermuda; Victoria, Canada; Batangas, Philippines and Batam, Indonesia; Ships are stationed around the world to support both installation of new cables and the maintenance and protection of existing cables. The company is also involved in joint ventures with China Telecom and Huawei.[3]

Since 2002 Global Marine has become increasingly active in the installation of submarine power cables and gained significant market share in the European Offshore Renewables market, in addition to undertaking a number of large power interconnect projects. The company was responsible for installing the cables connecting the turbines on a host of windfarm projects including Blythe (one of the first trial farms), Horns Rev 1 (the first major commercial windfarm in Denmark), Thornton Bank, Kentish Flats and others. To support this business Global Marine formed a subsidiary in 2011 called Global Marine Energy. The development of the energy business included the opening of a new office in Middlesbrough and the construction of a specialist vessel, Cable Enterprise. The subsidiary company was sold to Prysmian Group, the world’s largest cable manufacturer at the time of sale, in September 2012.

Global Marine today focuses primarily on supporting the telecoms,[4] oil & gas[5] and deep sea research[6] markets.

Group historical achievements

To date Global Marine has installed over 300,000 km of subsea cable, 23% of the world's total.[citation needed] In addition to this Global Marine with joint venture partners has performed 35% of maintenance operations on world fibre optic cables.

References

  1. ^ "HC2 HOLDINGS ANNOUNCES DEFINITIVE AGREEMENT TO SELL GLOBAL MARINE GROUP, EXCLUDING THE HMN JOINT VENTURE, FOR $250 MILLION". 31 January 2020.
  2. ^ "J.F. LEHMAN & COMPANY ACQUIRES GLOBAL MARINE GROUP". 2 March 2020.
  3. ^ "Huawei Marine Joint Venture Launched". December 2008.
  4. ^ "Telecoms overview". www.globalmarinesystems.com. Archived from the original on 2015-01-12.
  5. ^ "Oil & Gas Overview". globalmarinesystems.com. Archived from the original on 2015-01-12.
  6. ^ "Deep Sea Research Overview". globalmarinesystems.com. Archived from the original on 2015-01-12.
  7. ^ "Global Marine Systems achieves order of Distinction in health and safety awards". 2014.
  8. ^ "Global Marine installs the most northerly fibre optic cable system in the world". November 2014.