Wilhelmsen acquires stake in Reach Subsea

Norwegian shipping company Wilhelmsen has acquired a 21 per cent stake in local marine services provider Reach Subsea.

Together, Wilhelmsen and Reach will form a strategic partnership to commercialise the Reach Remote concept, bringing Reach Subsea’s business into new market segments and geographical regions.

Jan Eyvin Wang, Executive Vice President, New Energy at Wilhelmsen, said the decision was made to partner with Reach after they identified potential growth within emerging sectors such as offshore wind, subsea cables and other offshore electrification infrastructure, carbon storage and deep-sea mining.

The Reach Remote concept, operationalised in cooperation with Kongsberg Maritime and Massterly, was launched in early 2021 with a support grant from Innovation Norway. Reach is on track for the delivery of its two first Reach Remote unmanned surface vehicles (USV) in 2023.

By 2025, the company’s ambition is to provide a full portfolio of subsea services from a low-emission, cost-effective, remote, and autonomous fleet.

These USVs will serve as mobile power banks, data centres and communication modules for underwater ROVs, with the USVs operated from Massterly’s onshore control centres. Features for both real-time operator control and
autonomous operations will be incorporated, as well as hybrid modes blending remote and semi-autonomous control.