Bibby Offshore Creates 150 NE Jobs

25 November 2011

Bibby Offshore said yesterday it was to create about 150 north-east jobs after a multimillion-pound investment in a vessel for its core North Sea market. The Granite City-based subsea construction and inspection, repair and maintenance firm said the move would lead to about 100 jobs offshore and a further 50 onshore during the first six months of operation.

Bibby Offshore – a division of Bibby Line Group (BLG) – has struck a deal under which it will take control of the diving-support vessel Toisa Polaris on a two-year charter, with options to extend, starting in January. The agreement with offshore-support vessel operator Toisa Ltd also includes a purchase option.

Bibby said Toisa Polaris was one of the North Sea’s premier diving-support ships, with a recognised track record since her arrival in the area in 1999. Howard Woodcock, Bibby’s chief executive, said: "Its specification not only enhances our current fleet but also expands our offshore service capability.

"It further underlines our commitment to the North Sea offshore market, which we believe has a significant part to play in our company’s continued growth.”

Mr Woodcock said the deal also further underlined the company’s commitment to become a leading subsea construction and installation business, adding: "I am personally excited by the opportunities this will bring.”

Bibby Offshore undertakes subsea projects using owned and leased diving-support vessels, also operating floating production and storage units. The firm – established as a separate division of BLG in 2007 – has annual turnover of more than £150million and employs about 200 people onshore and 450 offshore, with offices in Aberdeen, Trinidad and Singapore. It recently set up a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) division, Bibby Remote Intervention, which is responsible for ROV and survey operations across the company fleet.