James Fisher is pleased to announce the successful deployment of the subsea export cables, as part of the initial construction phase (Phase 1A), in support of MeyGen Limited's (MeyGen) ground-breaking 398MW tidal array, at Pentland Firth, Scotland.

Utilising specialist in-house expertise from a number of group companies, the integrated solution delivered significant cost benefits and operational efficiencies to MeyGen, through the combination of innovative products and services exclusive to James Fisher.

Tim Cornelius, CEO of the Atlantis group - majority owner of MeyGen, said: 'This is an excellent result for the project. By its very nature the offshore site is a challenging tidal environment, and to complete the installation campaign safely and in line with the programme is a commendable achievement by our onshore and offshore teams, aided by great performance from the vessel. After all the planning it is very rewarding to see the offshore infrastructure taking shape for this trail-blazing project.'

Principle contractor James Fisher Marine Services (JFMS) acted as the project interface for the installation of four subsea cables at the MeyGen tidal energy project with Mojo Maritime (Mojo), marine management specialists, acting as the project lead that coordinated all offshore activities during operations.

Mojo was able to apply its innovative, marine project planning system, Mermaid (which precisely simulates marine operations against historical tidal data), to accurately optimise critical project operations and significantly reduce costs. A short neap window was identified and in order to achieve it, the vessel would have to lay one cable every 12 hours. While ambitious, this schedule was achieved and the offshore operation took just 2.5 days.

Mobilisation was very compressed and required extensive input from all involved to mobilise an entire cable spread in 4 days. The Siem Daya 1 DP vessel was carefully selected on its capabilities, as Mojo understood that securely positioning the vessel within the extreme tidal conditions would be a critical factor in achieving success.

Commenting on the project's overall success, Richard Parkinson managing director at Mojo said: 'Attention to detail and the safety of all personnel was paramount throughout every aspect of this project. Installing 11km of cable in tidal speeds of up to 6 knots posed significant challenges in planning and delivery and we knew we had a demanding schedule. It is a credit to the relentless effort of the team that we were able to achieve a safe and highly optimised cable pull and lay program.'

Demonstrating the streamlined service delivery from James Fisher, further group company involvement included; James Fisher Subsea heading up the diving services and mobilisation of a full dive spread, James Fisher Offshore supplying marine equipment and Fendercare Marine providing mooring systems.

Highlighting this integrated approach, JFMS managing director Richard Burmeister explained: 'I'm proud of our significant success at this project milestone. JFMS is all about delivering our extensive in-house group capability through one contractual interface. This was a perfect example of how we aim to reduce our customer's supply chain by bringing together a streamlined solution, enabling improved cost-effectiveness and efficiency.

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Notes to editor:

James Fisher Marine Services is a subsidiary of James Fisher and Sons plc and was formed in 2008 to provide a single contractual interface to the specialist marine and subsea services provided by the companies within the James Fisher group. JFMS focuses on the delivery of coordinated group capabilities including the provision of specialist project management and technical support specialising in the marine, offshore and subsea environments. Its extensive marine services capabilities are unique in combining both technical expertise with stakeholder and customer focus delivered through a style of leadership and empowerment that encourages our people to innovate and succeed.

For more information see www.james-fisher.com

James Fisher and Sons plc is a leading service provider in all sectors of the marine industry and a specialist supplier of engineering services to the nuclear industry in the UK and abroad. Operating in over 40 countries worldwide, the company serves both the private and public sectors and adopts a practical approach to the management of assets and provision of high quality services, ensuring an appropriate use of technology and a sound understanding of each customer's requirements. Building on the experience and expertise gained over more than 165 years of operating in the marine environment, James Fisher brings practical experience, innovation and commercial best practice to all clients' projects and services.

For more information see www.james-fisher.com

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