Marine firm celebrates £22m deal for East Asian project

CTC Marine Projects

A MARINE company based in the region has celebrated a £22m contract win after a successful year that last week also saw it pick up two national business awards

CTC Marine Projects, which specialises in subsea trenching and cable laying, has been awarded the ontract for cable laying and ploughing activity on the Jeju Island Project in South Korea.

The contract, with KT Submarine, will involve the installation of two 105 kilometre cable bundles between Jeju Island and Jindo Mainland Korea, in water depths of up to 160 metres.

The first bundle will be installed next year and the second in 2011.

Last week, the Darlingtonbased company was named Company of the Year and picked up the Innovation and Technology Award at the NOF Energy Annual Dinner, which was held at Hardwick Hall, Sedgefield, County Durham.

Managing director Daryl Lynch said: “These awards complete a successful year of business for CTC Marine Projects.

“We have expanded into several new regions, including Brazil, China, Egypt and the Middle East, and completed the first diverless subsea construction project in the Mediterranean for a contract worth £30m.

“Along with this, CTC has diversified into the growing offshore renewable market, having successfully been awarded the contract for the installation and burial of seventeen subsea power cable arrays linking wind turbine foundations at the Robin Rigg Offshore Wind Farm, in the Solway Firth.” Employing at least 230 people, the company, which is part of the Trico Marine Group, operates some of the world’s largest and most technically-advanced marine trenching vehicles.

CTC Marine Projects was shortlisted for company of the year alongside Newcastlebased SMD Ltd and Hydratight Ltd, which has its headquarters in the West Midlands.

The company was selected for its significant growth in the past 12 months coupled with its developing global presence based on the increased number of sectors it now works in.

George Rafferty, chief executive of NOF Energy, said: “CTC Marine Projects has been a pace-setting company in the subsea sector for some time and both the awards they have collected represent the quality business they have created and the reputation they have established across global industries.”

NOF Energy, based in Durham City, is a national business development organisation for the UK oil, gas and energy sectors.

CTC Marine was set up in 1993 by Darlington entrepreneur Charles Tompkins. Three years ago, the company was bought by DeepOcean before both firms were acquired by Trico Marine in May last year.