Geoquip Marine is a leading player in offshore geotechnical data acquisition, specializing in safely delivering reliable data. In recent years, bolstered by a team of key individuals, the company has explored several new markets. Head of Technical & Business Development Hans Hanse explained more to Imogen Ward.
ASfrontrunners in the acquisition of offshore technical data, Swiss-based Geoquip Marine is expanding its presence within the offshore renewables sector.
“Over the last few years, we have experienced massive growth,” said Head of Technical & Business Development Hans Hanse. “Back in 2018, we were a relatively small company of around 130 people, and now we have more than 600 employees. This expansion was mainly triggered by the energy transition, which enabled us to sell our expertise to a new market.
“We are now one of the main players in supplying offshore geotechnical data, and
more than 95 percent of our work comes from offshore wind projects.”
The remainder of Geoquip Marine’s work is dedicated to supporting scientific research, as well as oil and gas.
“We also aid investigation work for gas hydrates, which we have done mainly in Southeast Asia, and we work with many ports and harbors to facilitate large port expansions,” Mr. Hanse revealed.
Since 2011, Geoquip Marine has developed a strong reputation within the offshore sectors. Today, the company uses i ts fleet of six geotechnical drilling vessels to deliver a reliable and efficient service across the globe.
Breaching the American market
With business booming in the offshore wind sector, Geoquip Marine has taken the opportunity to explore business within America.
“Over the years, we have completed quite a few projects in the United States, it is a market with a lot of potential,” said Mr. Hanse. “In 2019, we conducted site investigation for what will be the biggest wind farm in the States, if not the world. Being awarded this project was a major milestone for us. In fact, one of the main
reasons we were granted the job was our scalability: we had enough vessels to provide a reasonable turnaround time.”
The project took two years to complete and relied on half of Geoquip Marine’s fleet. In that time, the company covered 220 sites. Since then, Geoquip Marine has remained active in America, particularly on the East Coast.
Geoquip Marine is currently conducting an ongoing campaign for Vineyard Wind, offshore from New York and Massachusetts. According to Mr. Hanse, the project will utilize two of its vessels for a considerable amount of time.
“We actually completed the initial site investigation work for Vineyard Wind, last year,” said Mr. Hanse. “Now, we have successfully negotiated a separate contract for two more programs, which are about to begin.”
Tech trials
With innovation at its core, Geoquip Marine spends its time on the cutting edge. Most recently, the company has developed a new site investigation deep push seabed CPT machine.
The new equipment is expected to hit the market early in 2025 and is anticipated to really enhance the company’s offering.
Geoquip Marine has plenty of experience in the development of CPT machines, having already developed the 200kN seabed CPT unit, which can conduct tests whilst a vessel is stationary. All the data from these tests is captured in real time, ready for processing.
The Geoquip Elena (a DP2 integrated geotechnical survey vessel) is equipped with a 20 tonne seabed CPT unit
All this data is collated by Geoquip Marine’s engineering team, which is an element of the business that Mr. Hanse is incredibly proud of.
“We are becoming a force to be reckoned with when it comes to engineering,” explained Mr. Hanse. “We are developing
our own software to analyze data, which is crucial in today’s market. Back in the day, we would be working on one big platform at a time, now we are completing projects in America with over 200 sites. The amount of data we now process has increased substantially , and we are developing smarter ways to deal with it.”
The company has also been advancing its Environmental, Social and Governance initiatives, to help safeguard the environment within which it works. With a strong presence in the development of renew able energy, Geoquip Marine has worked hard to implement measures to reduce the use of fossil fuels.
“We have assessed several different methods that will be useful in reducing
our fuel consumption, from the reuse of power to the reduction of energy used; we are considering all angles to ensure our footprint is minimal,” Mr. Hanse explained.
The company has also implemented policies to reduce waste, particularly aiming to minimize the use of single use plastics offshore. More recently, volunteers from Geoquip Marine’s UK-based office partook in an annual beach cleanup operation at Sand Bay in North Somerset, to help preserve the natural surroundings.
Future ambitions
Today, Geoquip Marine is a sizeable company with plenty of experience. Despite its size, the company has maintained a unique structure.
“Our ability to remain quite a flat organization is what really sets us apart in the market,” commented Mr. Hanse. “We are incredibly accessible, with an aversion to red tape, which makes us more approachable. Our clients also appreciate our commitment to the project – typically, the people who they negotiate the contract with are also involved during the execution of the work. This creates a positive rapport and makes our clients more comfortable with us.”
This particular dedication to clients has afforded Geoquip Marine many successes over the years, and the company hopes it will be a continuous aid as it approaches new marketplaces and expands its presence in current markets.
“We successfully operated a geotechnical vessel in Taiwan over the past three y ears, where we also have an office, so the Asia-Pacific region is one that we are following with great interest,” explained Mr.
