Member Article

SMD Services complete major MD3 Plough upgrade for Orange Marine

Soil Machine Dynamics Ltd (SMD) has successfully completed an upgrade to the MD3 (multi-depth) plough recently acquired by Orange Marine.

The plough, which was delivered to the SMD Services team for refurbishment in July, received a full control system upgrade and extensive overhaul.

SMD Services’ dedicated team of engineers based at Port of Tyne in South Shields assessed the equipment and devised a detailed refurbishment strategy to enable it to work as new.

The project involved replacing the plough’s original control system hardware which had become obsolete. SMD also supplied a passive scissor frame assembly to be fitted to the launch and recovery system.

In order to integrate the new and original hardware, SMD installed a bespoke QNX software update and also fitted the plough with an upgraded surveillance system featuring top of the range sonar, cameras and lighting.

The MD3 upgrade provides Orange Marine with state-of-the-art capabilities for the installation and burial of optical submarine cables which will be used for the first time in the installation of the Kanawa system between French Guiana and Martinique. The cable is scheduled to be operational in late 2018 and is being put in place to handle traffic growth and diversify connection points to ensure quality of service between countries.

SMD Services works closely with clients to ensure maximum performance from their assets. The SMD Services business, established in 2016, supports customers through the full life cycle of any subsea asset. The company provides 24/7 operational and engineering support, intelligent spares support, asset management, life extension, repurposing and OEM training.

Graham Puntis, Managing Director of SMD Services, explains: “This has been a fantastic project to work on. By working closely with Orange Marine, we have delivered an asset that will continue to serve their needs for some time to come.

“Through SMD Services we are providing a new level of support which helps industry owners and operators to optimise their operational costs. By offering an extensive technical support and refurbishment service we are enabling them to maximise the lifetime and financial return on their subsea intervention assets.”

SMD Services’ dedicated offshore support team is travelling to Brest in France to mobilise the plough on board the vessel for Orange Marine.

Raynald Leconte, Chairman and CEO of Orange Marine, said: “We are very pleased to complete the upgrade and refurbishment of this MD3 plough with SMD Services. This opportunity completes the range of submarine equipment alongside the equipment produced by Simec, a department of Orange Marine.”

The MD3 Plough offers reliable trenching in most soils including clays and sands, it is designed to minimise pull force requirements and provide effective trenching capability from zero to 3.3m depth and 3.0m of cover.

SMD is a world leader in the design and manufacture of remote intervention equipment, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and innovative trenching and mining systems for the subsea industry globally.

To find out more go to www.smd.co.uk and www.orange.com/orangemarine.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Fusion PR .