Fish farming ROV contractor enlarges fleet
Aberdeen company that has major deal with Mowi now has 38 Falcons
Aberdeen-based aquaculture supplier Underwater Contracting (UCO), which was already owner of the world’s largest fleet of Saab Seaeye Falcon underwater remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), has bought five more of the machines, it has announced.
The purchase gives UCO a total of 38 Falcon systems.
UCO, which also provides underwater services to the offshore energy, inspection, and construction markets, said the expansion was in response to major new multi-year contract wins across all sectors which will see it provide a range of services in Europe, North America, and the Middle East.
The company has also invested in additional equipment and now holds a stock of £250,000 dedicated Saab Seaeye Falcon spares and more than £350,000 worth of auxiliary equipment.
Upsurge in business
Managing director Mick Bower said: “Adding these additional systems to our fleet will enable us to respond to the upsurge in business and the major new contracts we have won in recent months.
“We have also made significant investment in adding to our stock of in spares and auxiliary equipment for the Falcons, so we can respond immediately to any issues or additional requirements that might arise during the delivery of our services for existing and new clients. Providing excellent customer service is integral to the way we run our business and having these items to hand when we need them, avoids unnecessary delays for our clients.”
Net repair
UCO, which has enjoyed year-on-year growth since entering the market in 2017, specialises in the development of innovative and industry leading solutions for the aquaculture sector.
They include the FOOVER mortality recovery system, NetFix, a unique ROV-deployed system to repair small holes in fish farm nets, and the latest development – collar cleaning equipment for fish farms. These systems are now deployed around the world.
In 2022, UCO won what is still believed to be one of the largest ever aquaculture sector ROV contracts, from salmon farmer, Mowi. The multi-million-pound contract represented more than 27,000 ROV days over a five-year period, breaking down to 15 ROVs, working 365 days a year over five years in projects in Europe and North America.
