Unique Group News

Fraser Moonie (Credit: Unique Group)

Industry Specialist to Head Commercial Strategy of Unique Group's Survey Division

Unique Group, a subsea technology and engineering services firm, has appointed Fraser Moonie as its Global Commercial and Strategy Development Director for the Survey Equipment division.In his new role, Moonie will be responsible for ensuring that Survey Equipment’s commercial strategy aligns with Unique Group’s overarching corporate goals.His focus will be on driving revenue growth, enhancing market share, and collaborating closely with senior management and cross-functional teams to ensure a cohesive and effective commercial strategy execution.Fraser brings with him a wealth of experience

NOC scientist Chelsey Baker during the DY111 CUSTARD expedition, 2019-2020 (Credit: NOC)

UK NOC's Study Challenges Role of Plankton in Ocean Carbon Storage Process

A new UK National Oceanography Centre (NOC)-led study has put a major question mark over the role a unique group of tiny microscopic plants plays in driving ocean carbon storage.Diatoms, a type of plankton or marine algae, have a significant role in drawing carbon down into the deep, especially in the Southern Ocean, which takes up about a third of organic carbon stored in the ocean.Uniquely, diatoms have dense, silica-based exoskeletons – like miniature glass houses – which were thought to provide ballast, making them prone to sinking and, therefore, a key way carbon is transported to the

OPT's WAM-V (Credit: OPT)

OPT and Unique Group Team Up for USV Services in Middle East

U.S.-based marine power, data, and services company Ocean Power Technologies (OPT) and UAE’s subsea technology and engineering services firm Unique Group have partnered up to offer unmanned surface vehicle (USV) services in the Middle East.Unique Group and OPT will collaborate to deploy OPT’s existing WAM-V USV in the UAE and other countries in the Gulf Collaboration Council (GCC) region.By integrating OPT’s commercially available vehicles with Unique’s position in the offshore energy industry in the UAE, the companies expect the accelerated adoption of USVs in the region.

A fully automated 44 structural pipeline repair clamp designed and engineered by Subsea Innovation. Image courtesy Unique Group

Unique Group Acquires Subsea Innovation

Unique Group acquired subsea technology and equipment manufacturer Subsea Innovation. The deal elevates Unique Group’s global engineering capabilities, enhances its portfolio and further strengthens the organization’s focus on engineering excellence and technology development.Headquartered in the United Arab Emirates, Unique Group has a global workforce of more than 600 employees across 18 locations. Renowned over three decades for the company’s excellence in subsea technologies including Survey Equipment, Diving & Life Support, Buoyancy & Water Weights, Unmanned Surface

Unique partnership: Chris Blake, Vice President Survey, Unique Group; Martin Wien Fjell, President, Kongsberg Discovery; Sahil Gandhi, CEO Unique Group; Che Keong Lee, Senior Sales Manager, Kongsberg Discovery. Image courtesy Kongsberg Discovery

Unique Group Inks $1.7m Deal with Kongsberg Discovery

Unique Group signed a contract with Kongsberg Discovery for $1.7m of advanced seabed mapping and compact acoustic positioning technology for the APAC region.The agreement, for the delivery of cNODE Transponders, µPAP SSBL systems and the recently launched EM2042 multibeam echo sounder (MBES), allows Unique to boost its  subsea equipment rental pool.The order, confirmed at Oceanology International in London, will swell the capacity of Unique’s Singapore base, giving customers in South East Asia fresh access to the calibration free µPAP SSBL systems and the lightweight, robust and

 (L-R) Sahil Gandhi, CEO and Harry Gandhi, Chairman at Unique Group’s Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) facility. - Credit: Unique Group

Unique Group Names New CEO

Unique Group, a subsea technology and engineering services firm, has appointed Sahil Gandhi as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), succeeding Himanshu (Harry) Gandhi, who will now assume the position of Chairman of the Group.Acting as Unique Group’s COO since 2017, Sahil Gandh has previously held Executive Director and Group Sales Manager roles. Harry Gandhi, Chairman of Unique Group, founded the company in 1993 with three employees, turning it into a multinational organization with over 500 employees today. On the appointment of Sahil Gandhi as CEO, Harry Gandhi said:“Over the

Left to right: John Tamplin, Seafloor Systems, with and Chris Blake, Unique Group, finalizing the contract during Ocean Business 2023 in Southampton, U.K. (Photo: Unique Group)

Unique Group Acquires New USV from Seafloor Systems

Unique Group announced it has entered a partnership with Seafloor Systems to acquire EchoBoat-160 unmanned surface vessel (USV), with fully integrated multibeam echosounder (SeaRAY) and sound velocity profiler, which will be available for hire from the group’s Houston facility from May 2023.Unique Group offers a range of USVs, including its own ‘Uni-Range’ of USV systems, on a sale and rental basis with a wide range of available sensor packages.The EchoBoat-160 USV is a purpose-built remote survey platform for hydrographic data collection. With true one-button startup, the nimble

(L-R) Craig Walker, Global Asset Manager and Chris Blake, Vice President - Survey at Unique Group’s Aberdeen office. (Photo: Unique Group)

Unique Group Announces Key Appointments

UAE-based subsea equipment and engineering firm Unique Group announced it has appointed Chris Blake and Craig Walker to leadership roles in Aberdeen, Scotland.  Blake joins Unique Group as Vice President – Survey, utilizing his 30 years of experience in the offshore industry throughout Europe, Middle East, Africa and the Americas with organizations such as Fugro and N-Sea. He brings to the role a track record in global survey products and services as well as business leadership.Walker’s appointment as Global Asset Manager will further enhance client project experience through data-drive

Image courtesy MODUS

Subsea Expo Day 2: Remote and Autonomous Ops are the Trend, Barriers Remain

the use of USVs, which many are now wanting to deploy ROVs from, are still a challenge. Speaking in a session on autonomous technologies, Sam Taylor, Business Development Manager at Ocean Infinity, says that regulations are behind the technology.David Rennie, Technical Manager, Autonomous Division, Unique Group, agrees. He told the same session: “The regulatory framework for using USVs is very unclear, which is holding things back. The technology has moved ahead and it’s making things tricky. The UK and IMCA are treating all USVs as boats rather than remote sensors.” Life buoys

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