Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Diving into the Chinese market

QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER FOR THE JAMES FISHER GROUP OF COMPANIES SPRING 2017


Diving into the Chinese market

From the deep blue sea to outer spaceJFD’s communication system, HeliCom Matrix makes the world’s first astronaut-to-deep-sea-diver conversation possible: Full story on page 2

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JFD’s newly formed joint venture with a Chinese diving equipment company has landed its first major contract

Late last year, JFD finalised details on an exciting joint venture with diving equipment manufacturer Wuhu Diving Equipment Factory, to form a company called Wuhu Divex Diving Systems Ltd.

As both partners have extensive track records of designing, manufacturing and installing diving systems, the new joint venture was created to provide a strengthened offering to the Chinese market and shipyards.

Now that vision has become a reality in the form of a new saturation diving system contract – a mobile 300m saturation diving system for Shanghai Salvage Company (SSC) which is one of the biggest professional salvage companies in China.

‘JFD has enjoyed a ten year partnership with SSC and we are delighted that this partnership is continuing through our new joint venture with Wuhu,’ says JFD managing director Giovanni Corbetta, ‘This partnership will allow access to greater resources in China providing a stronger portfolio and capability.’

As a subsidiary of SSC, Wuhu specialises in commercial diving systems for the domestic Chinese market, however, the link with JFD gives the team access to the design and manufacture of deeper saturation diving systems.

JFD Asia Pacific director, Doug Austin explains: ‘In the last ten years the two companies have worked closely together on projects, with JFD providing the design and outfitting expertise and Wuhu providing manufacturing capability. However, when SSC identified its need for new deep diving saturation systems, the joint venture was formed and although it is contracted to

provide a saturation system for the parent company, it is well positioned to provide deep diving capability to the growing Chinese market, as well as systems to new diving support vessels being built in Chinese yards for global markets.’

• James Fisher has created a partnership with Myanmar-based company, Royal Marine Technology to assist with the country’s expanding offshore oil and gas development plans.

• Subtech South Africa has set up the Subtech Imbokodo Trust that provides educational bursaries to prospective new mariners in a bid to help promising students complete the necessary studies for a career in the maritime industry. The trust’s first beneficiary is Siyamthanda Vuyelwa who hopes to achieve a diploma in marine sciences at Cape Peninsula University of Technology.

Stop press

Wuhu: signing the joint venture

Tidal completionJCB safety system Nuclear inspection Offshore successJFMS work with tidal energy project site, MeyGen sees speedy completion: Page 7

Prolec has designed a bespoke safety system for JCB’s new Hydradig excavator: Page 3

JFN in links with EDF Energy to create a bespoke reactor core inspection tool: Page 5

Significant offshore contract wins for Subtech in Africa and the Middle East: Page 6

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Astronauts aboard the International Space Station

Heliox voiceaudio signal

Clean audio signal

Unscambler

Simulated deep dive at the US Navy Experimental Diving Unit in Panama City, equivalent to being 500ft below seawater

The solutionDivex HeliCom Matrix system unscrambles the diver’s high-pitched ‘Donald Duck’ speech to make it easy to understand

The challengeTo ensure the heliox speech produced by a deep sea diver isintelligible over huge distanceson a phone call between outer space and deep sea

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station

QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER FOR THE JAMES FISHER GROUP OF COMPANIES SPRING 2017 QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER FOR THE JAMES FISHER GROUP OF COMPANIES SPRING 201702 03

BP has been the first oil major to successfully pilot the use of R2S Mosaic on its Clair platform north of Scotland

BP eyes new visualisation technology from R2S

R2S Mosaic, the latest generation of Return to Scene’s award-winning visualisation technology which was launched last year, has undergone its first field trial with BP.

BP’s Clair oilfield is the largest undeveloped hydrocarbon resource in the UK continental shelf, with an estimated eight billion barrels of oil in place.

The pilot on BP’s Clair platform, west of Shetland, began last October with the R2S Mosaic capture of the platform’s production and cellar decks. The completed project was delivered on schedule in January.

As explained in the Autumn issue of Pelican, R2S Mosaic uses specialised photography and spatial awareness to provide a completely immersive 360 degree visualisation of an asset or location which allows you to ‘walk around’ the whole facility without actually being there.

It enables asset owners, operators, and their suppliers to view, assess and measure anything from specific project areas to entire platforms, without the logistical and cost constraints of repeated survey trips. This makes it particularly useful for use in hazardous environments and offshore assets as it dramatically reduces the cost of routine site inspections. It also provides an intuitive visual data hub - a single point of access from which to streamline the management of data between the multiple information management systems utilised across oil and gas.

Return to Scene began working with BP in 2009, and with a global agreement in place, R2S has been rolled out across assets in the North Sea and US Gulf of Mexico. The team is also working on major projects in Canada.

BP is a pioneering adapter of visualisation

technologies and it was the collaboration between its digital innovation organisation team and Clair’s operational team that provided a green light to the R2S Mosaic pilot. This not only ensures the cost-effectiveness of the project, but it helps BP in meeting its technology strategy goals as well as wider industry objectives of efficiency, innovation and collaboration. Return to Scene believes it is helping BP to achieve these goals through this on-going relationship.

BP is undergoing a full assessment of the functionality, value and application of R2S Mosaic with a view to adopting it at scale. If successful, this would see greater uptake across BP globally.

Martin MacRae, Return to Scene’s head of product development says: ‘Client led research and development is central to our business and it’s incredibly exciting to be working with BP on this pilot project. This process will provide us with essential intelligence that will allow us to consider any modifications that may prove valuable to BP and our other oil and gas industry clients.’

Although R2S Mosaic is based on the same principles as the previous award-winning version it includes many additional features and functionalities designed to optimise workflow, improve understanding and increase efficiency.

Ruth Christie, Return to Scene’s business development director adds: ‘The focus on R&D and relationship-building with clients such as BP helps us to ensure that R2S Mosaic and other deliverables continue to meet the project-critical requirements of our customers and the future challenges of the market.’

Ground control to Major Tom

In February a historic phone conversation took place between an astronaut on the International Space Station 400km above Earth and US Navy deep-sea divers on a simulated deep dive, equivalent to being 150m below the surface of the ocean. The feat was only possible thanks to JFD’s communication system, HeliCom Matrix.

The communication system was able to unscramble the divers’ conversation using advanced digital technology which converts the distorted speech caused by the heliox gas (a mixture of helium and oxygen) they breathe at depth.

The call was set up by a joint NASA/US Navy initiative to test JFD’s new communications system and a recent overhaul of the US Navy’s experimental diving unit (NEDU). It comes as part of a close working relationship between the US Navy and NASA which uses underwater environments as a training ground for astronauts.

Some of the key conditions of working in space (such as zero gravity and the importance of locks and pressure seals) can be re-created underwater. ‘The physiology and science is similar between saturation

diving and going into outer space,’ explains lieutenant David Meadows of NEDU.

Both divers and astronauts have to live and work in a hostile environment, using equipment designed to keep them alive, while coping with the physiological effects of gasses on their bodies. However, the main difference between the two is that underwater there is lots of pressure, whereas in space there is none. Due to this pressured environment, divers have to breath heliox which renders their speech high pitched and difficult to understand. But JFD’s helium speech communication system, the Divex HeliCom Matrix System, utilises the latest digital signal processing techniques to unscramble the divers’ ‘Donald Duck’ speech so they can be heard and understood clearly.

The HeliCom system uses a ‘vocal tract modeller digital helium unscrambler’ which converts raw helium speech back to intelligible communications making clear communication possible over extreme distances.

Steven Coull, JFD’s product engineering manager says: ‘JFD is delighted to have worked on this experiment with two world

James Fisher Prolec (Prolec) has been working closely with construction machinery specialist, JCB, to design and integrate a bespoke safety system into its new Hydradig excavator which makes it super-safe to operate in confined spaces.

The Prolec system ensures the Hydradig excavator complies with tough regulations set by major infrastructure project companies for working in congested environments.

But the specifics of Hydradig’s design and function meant Prolec had to engineer a bespoke solution which would fit the excavator’s compact dimensions but be capable of reliably controlling its range of motion.

The safety solution Prolec has successfully designed and manufactured is the next generation variant of its flagship ‘rated capacity indicator and machine envelope monitoring system’ which physically limits a machine’s movement. It works by asking operators to define safe working zones on any site. The Prolec system is then able to restrict a machine’s movements should it approach these limits.

This has huge safety implications for Hydradig, allowing the excavator to be used on the new M6 smart motorway conversion (working in the narrow confines of the central reservation without risk to traffic on either side). It also maximises productivity because the movement restriction ensures users can confidently make use of the machine’s full capacity.

Prolec can now offer the new design to Hydradig owners who want to retrofit their excavators for use in confined spaces.

Prolec’s product support manager, Ed Staveley explains: ‘The Prolec system allows the Hydradig operator to manage risk by constantly monitoring the machine’s movement within defined safe zones restricting its movement if it approaches these limits.’

There is a growing requirement for plant machinery to have these kinds of safety systems as standard, and this project for Prolec comes on top of a similarly high profile job for Caterpillar.

JCB’s Hydradig gets a Prolec upgrade

JFD’s communication system has made history thanks to a VERY long distance phone conversation between outer space and the deep blue sea

leaders, NEDU and NASA. We are all immensely proud that the HeliCom Matrix played a vital role in ensuring successful communications from seabed to outer space. Clear and intelligible communications are essential for diver safety and the excellent client feedback we received is testament to JFD’s commitment to producing world class products.’

This ground breaking experiment was the first of its kind. The ten-minute call – which went ahead on February 7th – was streamed live on Facebook. In that time, French astronaut, Thomas Pesquet chatted with divers, including master diver Eric Wilson, as they discussed daily life underwater and in space as well as the different projects they were working on.

Although teamwork is a vital part of working as an astronaut and a commercial diver, so is being able to cope with isolation. When you’re working ‘alone’ in the hostile environment of space - or up to 450m below the surface of the ocean - you still need to constantly communicate with the support team; whether that’s mission control on Earth or dive control on the surface.


Core inspection expertiseJFN has won the contract to manufacture highly specialised inspection tools for EDF Energy’s nuclear reactors

Since 2012 EDF Energy has been using special ‘eddy current inspection tools’ which were specially developed with James Fisher Nuclear (JFN) working in collaboration with Serco (now Amec), Bloodworth Consultancy and Manchester University to help assess the health of the graphite blocks that make up the reactor core of many of its nuclear energy sites.

It is vital to regularly monitor the graphite that is critical to the safe generation of electricity and so ensure the continued safe operation of EDF’s nuclear reactors. But an increasing desire to extend the safe life of existing nuclear plants has stimulated the need for ever more advanced inspection technology.

The multinational electricity generator has been working closely with JFN in recent years to ensure the inspection technology is as sophisticated as possible. When EDF Energy was given a ten-year extension on Dungeness B it asked JFN to upgrade its inspection system and ensure it was fully compatible with the specifics of the Dungeness B reactors.

The teams worked in collaboration to design a new highly sophisticated evolution, called ECIT. The system is undergoing final tests, and JFN has been given the go-ahead to manufacture three ECIT core inspection units at its modern engineering facility in Malton, Yorkshire, with a view to delivering the final tools and all their equipment by the middle of 2019.

The new system has been further

developed to be robust and adaptable enough to provide reliable and accurate data in the hostile and highly radioactive environment of the reactor cores of EDF Energy’s fleet of operating advanced gas cooled (AGR) nuclear power stations. The data from each inspection is relayed to operators on the charge face – on top of the nuclear reactor - to enable rapid assessment of the condition of the core by the EDF Energy inspection team.

The EDF commission is for three tools, each with a control console, a calibration unit and a storage unit to allow safe handling and transportation of the tool once it’s been deployed in the core.

‘The recent product development has combined all the good design of our previous system along with operational experience from the field to significantly improve it,’ explains project lead for JFN Sarah Town.

‘We were asked to modify the tool specifically for use in Dungeness B nuclear power station, which has much tighter size restrictions, and this added to the engineering challenge,’ Sarah adds.

The increased understanding of changes to the status of these cores will enable EDF Energy to improve the assessment of station lifetimes to help keep costs down and reduce downtime. EDF Energy owns and operates 15 nuclear plants at eight nuclear power stations in the UK. These stations have a combined capacity of around 8.8 million kilowatts (kW): a significant proportion of the UK’s total installed electricity generation capacity.

Because of our expertise in naval architecture, marine and ocean engineering design we are also looking at other group companies to see where we can help each other, whether that be sharing knowledge, supporting projects or offering advice. I am convinced that together we can be stronger, more efficient and provide our customers with the best possible service.

What projects have you worked on?When I joined ME, the team had already

been working on the Dampier floating wharf project in Australia (pictured left) but I have

been involved in the recent redesign to allow the mooring to accommodate larger vessels of up to 90m long. We have also been awarded a contract to undertake a feasibility study of the Western Australia Police fleet of vessels – although this will be headed up by my colleague, Mark Sambrailo.

In addition to this, we have supported our Australian clients on a range of smaller projects such as stability assessments and the design of towing equipment and bespoke mooring solutions.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

I love the fact that I am able to mix my technical expertise with project management skills to get a complete overall view of any project, seeing it through from concept design to fabrication, working very closely with the client the whole time. My job is all about finding the best possible solutions not just in terms of suitable design but also in terms of project management and cost control. I’m currently studying for a post-graduate certificate in project management so it’s all very useful.

What other projects are you working on?

We were involved in the tendering process with JFD on the new contract to create a saturation diving system for Shanghai Salvage that will operate up to 500m deep (as featured in the Winter issue of Pelican). The project is fascinating because no one has designed anything capable of reaching these depths. We are hoping to support JFD with the structural design of the frame system and the transport vessel interface.

There is so much to look forward to – these are exciting times for ME.

We meet Tanya Valova who joined the Perth office of Australian marine engineering consultancy Maritime Engineers last year and has been forging strong links with other James Fisher group companies

Tell us a bit about yourselfAlthough I grew up in Bulgaria we moved

to Germany in my teenage years. I have always been fascinated with the ocean and an avid fan of competitive sailing and this passion culminated in me taking a masters degree in mechanical engineering and naval architecture (ship design).

As a student I worked part-time for the ship classification society Germanisher Lloyd, and after graduating I was offered a position as plan approval engineer with the company.

Over the next eight years I gathered experience in the hull and outfitting departments which involved a two year stint representing the company in South Korea and China and I found I really enjoyed working with multiple clients across different cultures.

In 2012 I took the big decision to move to Perth in Western Australia to work with a shipbuilding and marine engineering consultancy. Four years later (in January last year) I joined Maritime Engineers (ME)as design office manager in the Perth office (the company has offices in Australia, Singapore and Japan) with a brief to run the design aspect of the business.

What’s your current role?As well as working with the team to try

to expand our markets, much of my focus is on growing the business internally by developing successful relationships with our sister companies. In the last year I have been helping to identify where we can share knowledge and expertise with other companies in the James Fisher group in the hope that we can try to get projects together and work as an expanded team.

As a result we are in the process of strengthening our relationships with sister companies such as Fendercare, Scan Tech, Mojo Maritime and JFD.

Under the surface with:

Design office manager with Maritime Engineers

Tanya Valova

Strainstall’s market-leading container weighing system, CWS, has just received full Automatic Weighing Instruments EU-type approval from the National Measurement and Regulation Office. This is a world first, and a critical milestone in the product’s development.

The EU-type approval enables complete compliance to the International Marine Organisation (IMO)’s amendments to the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) which came into force on 1 July 2016 making it a legal requirement for every export container to have a verified container

weight as a condition for loading aboard a vessel. ‘The industry is still experiencing some issues with

implementation and enforcement so this certification will give customers complete confidence in compliance and their ability to provide verified weights as legislated by the IMO,’ says Strainstall managing director, Simon Everett.

Strainstall’s CWS (pictured left) was specifically developed to meet the SOLAS regulations and has been successfully installed at a number of international container terminals where it has demonstrated its high accuracy in excess of industry expectations.

ECIT (eddy current inspection tool)works by applying an electromagnetic field to the graphite bricks which make up the reactor core. Because graphite is electrically conductive, eddy currents are induced in the material.

This electrical conductivity can be measured to give an indication of graphite density and stability. The eddy current generates data and highlights heat spots and any weaknesses or changes in density or cracks in the graphite which could have a significant impact on the reactor.

The ECIT control console (left) is now more ergonomic and easier to work with as well as to clean and decontaminate. This will make ECIT safe to handle and transport once it’s been in the core.

Strainstall in world first product approval

How ECIT works


JFSE designs ground-breaking underwater trenching tool

Inspection, operation and insight

Wind farm construction is galloping ahead

Joining the fight against illegal animal trade

Success for JFMS in cutting-edge tidal project

Over the last 18 months, James Fisher group companies have been closely involved in the preparatory construction of MeyGen’s tidal energy project site in Scotland’s Pentland Firth. But now the fourth and final tidal stream turbine has been successfully deployed in record time - less than 60 minutes.

This marks the completion of a brave and exciting mission to create the world’s first tidal energy field in extremely challenging conditions. Richard Argall, managing director of projects at James Fisher Marine Services (JFMS) says: ‘Tidal stream projects always provide a challenge and MeyGen has been no exception. They are situated in areas where tidal forces are at their strongest - the kind of place mariners tend to avoid. It can be a bit like erecting a wind turbine in a hurricane so there is never any room for error.

‘With MeyGen we were operating in tight tidal windows and it’s a testament to the great team that despite the conditions we were able to complete the work on schedule. MeyGen is an important project with implications for the development of the wider tidal energy sector and we are pleased to have played our part in getting this project off the ground.’

James Fisher companies came together to successfully complete the work on the turbine and cable installation with Mojo Maritime and JF Subsea working closely on the project.

Since being acquired by James Fisher

in 2015, Mojo has sealed its reputation as a world leader in the tidal energy construction market. This has included the pioneering use of DP 2 vessels. Although traditionally used in the offshore oil and gas sector, these have been specially configured by Mojo for use on tidal energy projects. Mojo also provided three bespoke tidal turbine launch and recovery systems for use in high energy tidal sites to cope with the demanding environment.

To date, the teams have successfully executed tidal energy operations in some of the most challenging seas in the world, with these skills deployed not only in the UK but also in France, through Mojo’s French subsidiary.

The company has also recently been selected by American wave energy company, GWave to provide engineering services for the installation of its inaugural power generation device. Work is scheduled to begin in 2018 on the hardware, which claims to generate up to 9MW of energy and will be the first wave energy device of its kind to be used in Europe. It will be based at the Wave Hub test site in Cornwall.

During 2017 Mojo Maritime and JF Subsea, along with recently acquired HSSE are being rebranded together as James Fisher Marine Services to provides a single point of contact for the tidal energy sector as it moves through pilot arrays to full-scale commercial deployments. This rebranding will enable the companies to work more closely together, and share expertise.

JFMS and Mojo Maritime celebrate the completion of early construction at MeyGen’s tidal energy project in Scotland

Subtech increases its offshore presence with significant new contract wins

Joining the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s conservation taskforce

James Fisher Marine Services (JFMS) has made two important acquisitions which strengthen the company’s offering to existing and potential clients.

The first addition is in the form of a complete acquisition of Rotos 360; a Norfolk-based wind turbine inspection and repair company, and the second development is the purchase of the operations and assets from Insight Marine Projects, based in Cornwall.

The innovative turbine curing technique which Rotos 360 has developed, and which

After six years of focussing solely on marine and sub-sea services in Sub-Saharan Africa, Subtech has re-entered the offshore market with significant new contract wins in the Middle East and West Africa.

Work has just commenced on a cable installation project for Saipem in the Gulf of Arabia. This contract will be managed out of Subtech’s Dubai office.

In addition to this, the division has been busy co-ordinating five new offshore projects: two diving contracts in Equatorial Guinea for ExxonMobil and Geptrol Marine Services; an installation support contract in Ghana for Sri EMAS; a five-year maintenance arrangement for buoy mooring company Seaways International and a five-year contract for the provision of specialised pipeline maintenance services for Shell Nigeria.

Paul Whiley, who joined as the Subtech Group’s new CEO last October says: ‘Although the oil and gas industry is at its lowest since the 1920s, we are delighted that Subtech has managed to secure contracts in both West Africa and the

The teams at JFMS have been hard at work on the next construction phase of the new Galloper wind farm off the Suffolk coast.

With the installation of the first offshore wind turbine foundations at the Galloper site, offshore operations can now commence.

A JFMS vessel, the Severn Provider is working with a three-man emergency response team to offer rescue services and medical treatment there.

JFMS has also ramped up personnel levels at Galloper’s onshore construction base in Lowestoft to support this additional vessel handling, refuelling and logistics.

Project manager, David Smail says: ‘2017 looks set to be a very busy year for JFMS as construction of Galloper gets underway. We will be supporting the installation of 56 turbine foundations over the next four months, and this will be followed by the installation of array cables and an offshore substation before the wind turbines can arrive.’

James Fisher Subsea Excavation, which leads the way in subsea mass/controlled flow excavation around the world, has developed a powerful new tool capable of trenching large diameter pipelines in a single pass.

JFSE’s fleet of tools uses high pressure water jets to provide a non-contact form of excavation that eliminates the risks associated with other excavation methods especially around complex subsea assets. The new Twin T8000 brings together two T8000 units (which have been successfully used on hundreds of subsea excavation projects) to offer unsurpassed power and precision.

The new system can direct up to 16,000 litres of water per second with an accuracy of 0mm + 300mm. It was designed for offshore construction company, SapuraKencana Mexicana for a project which required 14km of 36” gas pipeline to be laid in the Gulf of Mexico in a single pass.

Graham Murdoch, operations director at JFSE, explains: ‘Although we designed the Twin T8000 with this particular project in mind, the technology will greatly benefit any client with large diameter trenching needs.

Middle East. This is a testament to the fantastic team we have in our offshore division as well as the excellence in the departments which support them. We anticipate being able to continue this growth in the coming months and years.’

When Subtech sold its Qatar operation in 2010 the decision was taken to concentrate on work in Sub-Saharan Africa, but now the teams have started winning offshore contracts along the coast of West Africa, the offshore side of the business is growing at an exponential rate.

The proven combination of power and controllability of this tool is second to none.’

‘We are committed to continuous innovation so our clients can be assured that whatever solution we devise for their subsea excavation requirement, it will be the most time and cost-effective option available,’ Graham adds.

is proven to reduce turbine downtime during essential maintenance (right), will enhance the JFMS renewables offering - helping deliver improved responsiveness and reduced costs.

Because Insight has a strong reputation for supplying coastal, inshore and offshore services, the acquisition will mean extended hydrographic/geophysical survey and construction support for JFMS’s existing clients in the oil, gas and civil engineering markets around the world, as well as boosting potential services in renewables.

Richard Argall, managing director of

marine projects at JFMS comments: ‘Our market-leading marine service capabilities have been further strengthened through these purchases, which means we can now provide an even more comprehensive service to our customers globally.’

Posh Elegance: working on Subtech’s Nigeria contract

Subtech diver with a cable installation

The Twin T8000 ready for action

Tanker charter company, JF Everard has joined a global taskforce backed by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to stem the illegal trade in endangered animals.

The ‘transport taskforce’ will bring together leaders in international transport in a bid to unite conservation efforts worldwide against poaching and illegal wildlife trading and investigate ways to break the chain between suppliers and consumers.

The taskforce comes under the umbrella concerns of the charity, United for Wildlife created by The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry.

‘The trade targets some of the most endangered species on the planet and puts animals through untold suffering,’ says Fiona Everard from JF Everard. ‘We want to see if there is anything we can do to assist conservation groups, share best practice with other operators and help to stem the trade in illegally caught and poached animals worldwide.’

Offshore expansion for Subtech


The Hughes Sub Surface Engineering apprentice of the year award has gone to Tom Riding who has now joined the company to work as a dive technician. Tom was highly commended for the mechanical engineering apprenticeship he completed in conjunction with St Helen’s College near Liverpool.

He received the award (above) from Arthur Todd, group marine projects director at James Fisher at a ceremony last December at Liverpool Marine Engineers’ and Naval Architects’ Guild.

After a lifetime working at sea and 20 years with James Fisher, Captain Dennis Smith – master of Solway Fisher - has just retired.

Dennis, who had an exemplary work and safety record throughout his 45-year career, started work on steam tugs on the River Tyne at the age of 15. He joined Rowbotham tankships as junior 3rd mate in 1975 at the age of 25, gained his Masters Extended European Certificate and was promoted to master in 1981. Rowbothams eventually became P&O Tankships which was bought by James Fisher in 1997.

‘My job has certainly changed over the years,’ he says, ‘when I was first made captain the crew were paid on board in cash, so the toughest day each month was payday when I had to lock myself away and work out all the tax, national insurance and overtime.’

‘That all gets sorted by admin staff onshore now (thank goodness!), but my paperwork has quadrupled over the years and a captain’s activities have gradually increased to include vettings, port and flag state inspections, audits and budgets. It is immensely satisfying when things go right and the ship gets a clean bill of health – which wouldn’t be possible without good competent crew and shore staff.’

Dennis plans to spend his well-deserved retirement with his wife of 47 years, Marilyn, walking, playing golf, touring the UK, practising his guitar and enjoying time with their two teenage grandchildren.

James Fisher bids farewell to Captain Smith

HSSE diver in it for the long run

Congratulations to apprentice of the year

While most of us were enjoying our Easter weekend this year, professional diver, Adam Fryer, was powering his way through the Marathon des Sables - a 156-mile ultra-marathon across the Sahara desert.

Adam, 31, from Conway in North Wales, who works as a diver with Hughes Sub Surface Engineering (now part of James Fisher Marine Services), finished in the top 300 out of 1300 runners.

Adam trained hard for this, the world’s toughest foot race, which takes place in Northern Morocco every April and involves running seven marathons over six days on shifting sands in searing 50-degree heat.

Adam ran so well that he was lying in the top 200 until the middle of the last 54-mile stage when he tripped and dislodged his kneecap. Despite the grusome injury, and in considerable pain, he completed the race on crutches and finished in 286th place.

He says: ‘This was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but I was totally focused on smashing it – it was many miles of pure pain and joy.’

Not only did Adam beat his best hopes for placings, but he also exceeded his £10,000 targeted fundraising for Ty Gobaith (Hope House) children’s hospices.

James Fisher helped Adam raise money by putting £500 towards his equipment and food and you can still sponsor Adam here:https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Adam-Fryer-MDS

Congratulations to Mirela Hristova, 13, from Bulgaria who won the age 9+ section of the James Fisher Shipping Services nautically-themed children’s painting competition with this fantastic picture. She is joined by Connor Stevenson, 5, from Cumbria and Matilda Cook, 7 from Sunderland who won the 2-5 and 6-8 year old categories.

Young painters of the world

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