NEW developments have boosted the capability of an underwater operations company at Portland.

Global Marine Systems (GMS) at Portland Port has subsea equipment, cable storage and training facilities but is also the base for one of the company’s vessels, the CS Sovereign.

The company’s Portland centre is also the design and manufacturing site for its Inspection-Class Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) Predator.

South Dorset MP Richard Drax also toured the depot recently and visited its subsea services training school, which provides training for ROV pilots.

He said: “The range and flexibility of the many tasks the company carries out is staggering. I am delighted that such a successful company is operating in South Dorset, which needs to attract more companies like Global Marine to the area. I will do all I can to support this company as it hunts for more contracts around the world.”

GMS says that its Portland base continues to be a world-leading facility in subsea services and cable maintenance as well as ROV subsea training – especially for the growing offshore windfarm market.

The company says the depot has benefited from recent significant investment in subsea equipment, cable storage and training facilities.

John Davies, managing director of Subsea Services at Global Marine Systems, said: “Portland continues to be a world-leading facility in the provision of subsea services.

“Ours is the largest facility for cable maintenance in the world, and our highly-skilled team provides innovative cable services and ROV subsea training which are world-renowned.”

GMS employs more than 15 people at its Portland centre and aims to increase this as the business moves forward.

Due to its compact design, the Predator is said to be more cost-effective than previous ROVs in the market.

GMS says that it is also well-suited for a range of observation and inspection tasks in waters up to 300 metres.

GMS also recently launched its 7,000-tonne turntable, designed to handle the longer distances and greater weights required by the latest round of offshore windfarm projects.