From robust subsea structures to high-precision inspection systems, USA-based Seanic Ocean Systems has the experience, design expertise and understanding of deepwater operations to allow it to provide leading-edge engineered solutions and intervention tooling for the toughest deepwater challenges. Now the company is set to expand upon its products and services, with its relocation to new corporate headquarters in Katy, Texas, just west of Houston. Completed in 2016, Seanic says it introduced the state-of-the-art facility to meet the evolving needs and exceed the expectations of its customers.

The facility is located on 10.5 acres (4.2 hectares) equipped with a 55,000-square-foot (5000-square-metre) building and in-ground wet test tank. Seanic’s facility also features a dedicated welding fabrication shop, two-story admistration space, an expansive shop to accommodate operations, overhead cranes, customer storage, testing and assembly. Qualified personnel, along with the thoroughly equipped new facility, provides for an effective work environment for services such as specialty welding, IMR, testing and integration (FAT/SIT), remote intervention engineering, onshore and offshore support, and engineered solutions, according to the company.

“Our expansive welding capabilities enables Seanic to design and build custom subsea hardware that will interface with our tools,” says the company. “Critical to our tooling design and development process, these new welding facilities will also allow Seanic to produce hardware solutions necessary for optimal subsea structure performance. Not only do we understand subsea tooling, but the hardware it connects with as well.”

SPACE

Seanic says its expanded administration space grants it access to multiple conference rooms and gathering spaces vital to the collaborative process for its custom engineered solutions clients. “We also understand that clients may need some space of their own when working at our campus on unique, time-sensitive projects. This is why we have dedicated a portion of our new office to support client administrative needs,” the firm says.

It adds: “Our team approach to proactively solving the needs of our clients often demands that we pool the combined talents, expertise and experience of Seanic’s employees with our clients all in one place. Seanic’s team stands ready to provide clients and their projects with a customised engineered solution they won’t find anywhere else.”

Whether purchased from Seanic or another provider, Seanic’s shop space also offers an expanded tool pool and storage area for those clients who may not have the capacity to store and maintain their own equipment. The company’s employees maintain an accurate inventory and a thorough maintenance programme to ensure that when the time comes, stored equipment is operational and available. A large, stabilised yard space also affords clients the ability to store larger pieces of equipment on Seanic’s grounds. “Clients who store their assets with Seanic can rest assured that our team understands the needs of a demanding industry that often requires equipment at a moment’s notice,” says the company.

Seanic’s new facility offers increased manufacturing and testing capabilities. Factory accepted testing expertise provides clients with the knowledge that their purchase meets all required specifications while the company’s system integration tests certify that all the complex components of tooling and hardware work together properly. The 50-foot x 50-foot x 30-foot (15-metre x 15-metre x nine-metre) in-ground wet test tank allows for enhanced ROV and system integration testing as well. This new testing tank enables Seanic to accommodate easier and safer operational access while multiple camera angles will provide clients with a dynamic, real-time viewing experience.

Tom Ayars, Seanic president, concludes: “Seanic has continued to grow since its inception in 2007, and the capabilities of this new facility will allow Seanic to expand upon the products and services that our customers have come to expect from us. An easily accessible test tank of this size is long overdue in the Gulf Coast region. Houston is the hub for creating new deepwater concepts and this tank will allow us to efficiently develop and test new systems and applications in a state-of-the-art, convenient and user-friendly facility.”