Member Article

Hexham offshore engineering specialist reveals further testing developments

Two months after the launch of its expanded test facilities, Hexham-based Red Marine has announced a further development with the revelation of a new high capacity Test Rig.

The 200t capacity Cable and Umbilical Test Rig, the CTR200, is currently under construction and will enable testing of subsea power cables and umbilicals prior to installation offshore.

Speaking on the expansion, Steve Pocock, Test Services Manager at Red Marine said: “Testing is becoming an increasingly important part of our client’s requirements as the industry continues to develop new products for harsher and deeper water environments whilst facing pressure from low oil prices. As such, we’re seeing an increased demand for intelligent testing services.”

“With the development of this specialist rig, we’re demonstrating, not only the continuous innovation that drives our business, but also our commitment to playing a leading role in meeting the evolving needs and requirements of the changing oil and gas industry.”

Red Marine’s new Cable and Umbilical Test Rig offers a range of capabilities and features rarely seen in the industry. These include being able to configure the rig in a number of ways in order to allow the accurate assessment of cable strength, torque balance, stiffness and fatigue properties.

These features combined with an internal bed length of 11m will allow testing of samples up to 7m in length (including pull heads) with a maximum axial load of 200 tonnes. Longer samples can also be tested as the rig design allows the pull heads to be held outside the test frame if required.

Together with Red Marine’s existing thermal chamber and friction test rigs, the new rig will allow the provision of a full range of cable qualification tests against industry standards or client specific requirements. The CTR-200 rig will be operational towards the end quarter of 2015.

Steve added: “At Red Marine we offer testing with Intelligence to all of our clients to deliver bespoke solutions. In addition to our state of the art test facilities, we have the in-house engineering skills to fully analyse and extract maximum value from test results.

“Working in partnership with our clients this allow us to support the rapid development and qualification of industry leading products and solutions.”

Red Marine is based in Hexham, Northumberland and employs a total of 24 personnel.

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