Osiris Projects becomes Bibby HydroMap

Against a backdrop of increasing focus on cost efficiency and innovation, UK-based Osiris Projects has rebranded as Bibby HydroMap. It’s nearly three years since Bibby Line Group, one of the oldest names in international shipping, acquired Osiris Projects, who specialise in hydrographic and geophysical survey, geotechnical sampling and ROV/AUV survey.

Founded in 1997 by Andrew McLeay, now managing director at Bibby HydroMap and Jim Walters, technical director, the company has witnessed significant changes, not least of which are an outcome of the North Sea oil and gas downturn. Andy McLeay explains the thinking behind the rebrand, “Being part of a larger group has helped us to develop a wider range of services, and, perhaps more importantly, our investment in R&D has helped us to exploit new technologies to deliver cost efficiencies while optimising quality outputs. From a customer perspective, it really does widen and strengthen our offer.”

Current Profile
Since being acquired by Bibby in May 2012, Bibby HydroMap has grown organically from 40 to over 100 full-time staff, most of whom are based at their offices near Liverpool or on board one of their five custom-built vessels.

The company has traditionally been driven by its clearly defined values of relationship, commitment, quality and integrity, guided by their mission statement to be the seabed survey company of choice. Turning over GBP10m a year, Bibby HydroMap serves a range of clients mainly from the Oil and Gas and offshore renewables industries. Parent company Bibby Line Group is a GBP1.59bn turnover business that employs over 6,000 people across 20 countries worldwide.

International and Global Scope
Having served the UK offshore renewables sector for almost 15 years, Bibby HydroMap is keen to increase their involvement in European wind, particularly in Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark. The company’s 24hr semi-SWATH catamarans Bibby Athena and Bibby Tethra were designed to address the challenges associated with the next phase of offshore wind sites, providing a stable platform for hydrographic and geophysical survey, geotechnical sampling and ROV inspection.

Subsea power and telecom cables forms another key sector for the company. Bibby HydroMap recently launched their remotely operated survey platform d’ROP, designed initially for depth of burial surveying, with plans to support various sensors including multibeam echo sounder, side-scan sonar, sub-bottom profiler and magnetometer. The d’ROP is currently mobilised to Bibby Athena, deploying through the moonpool using a custom-built LARS.

Bibby HydroMap has operated within the UK Oil and Gas industry since inception, working with clients including Shell, ENI and Centrica, typically offering pipeline/asset surveys, debris clearance surveys and ROV inspection. In this sector, the company is planning to exploit the cost-savings associated with their vessels in comparison to traditional offshore vessels, whilst developing relations with other Oil and Gas focused companies within the Bibby Line Group.

Bibby Marine managing director Jon Osborne comments, “The specialist work of Osiris Projects has always been highly valued in the coastal surveying industry. As Osiris Projects, they have deservedly built up a reputation for innovation, technical expertise and outstanding customer service. As part of the wider Bibby group, we look forward to helping them to grow and to forging new strategic alliances.”

View on the Future
Innovation is at the heart of the company, that firmly believes new technologies such as remote and autonomous survey platforms hold the key to optimising survey efficiency. With an increasing emphasis on cost reduction spanning all offshore industries, investment should focus on methods that seek to minimise weather susceptibility whilst delivering quality survey outcomes, safely and efficiently. The UK is well-placed in this respect to proactively exploit their marine engineering heritage.

The UK leads the world in offshore wind technology and expertise, and UK-based companies are in a strong position to take advantage of the growing European offshore renewables industry. Standardisation, achieved through horizontal and vertical collaboration, will help to reduce costs throughout the supply chain and improve competitiveness.

Bibby HydroMap has ambitious plans for growth, focusing on Europe, fleet expansion and development of the d’ROP system. Defined by their company values and new company slogan ‘Committed to Quality and Innovation’, Bibby HydroMap will move forward building upon the strong foundation provided by Osiris Projects.

The company are exhibiting at Ocean Business, Stand Q8.