UK-based Harlyn Solutions has delivered 12 km of inter-array subsea cable for an offshore wind project, deploying a custom-engineered cable. It also shared details of its local talent pipeline developed through a long-standing connection with Newcastle University and its School of Engineering.
Harlyn explained that the cable length was too short to justify traditional large-scale carousel transport. This presented significant commercial risks: potential demurrage costs on expensive installation vessels and delays at the loading port, both of which could impact the offshore construction schedule and project economics.
To address this, Harlyn used its established method involving custom-engineered cable baskets optimised for shorter-length subsea cable handling. The baskets were designed by Harlyn’s engineering team and fabricated by Marine Repair in the Netherlands. Each basket was engineered for secure spooling, structural stability, and sea-fastening efficiency to ensure full compliance with offshore transport requirements.
Once fabricated, these were transport to Corinth, Greece, where Harlyn’s field team handled the spooling and loading operations using both SPMTs and the company’s bow cable engine (BCE) equipment, ensuring the cable was loaded evenly and securely within each basket.
The baskets were then rolled onto Hartman Seatrade’s vessel Western Rock for onward delivery to the USA.
According to Harlyn, this method eliminated the need for cranes, avoided double handling, and dramatically reduced port turnaround time – directly mitigating demurrage exposure for the client’s installation and transport vessels.
Based at the port of Blyth, the company is committed to strengthening the region’s contribution to the global offshore logistics sector. As part of this approach, it supports and develops the local talent pipeline with a long-standing connection to nearby Newcastle University and its School of Engineering.
Harlyn said that the university continues to invest in modern teaching and research facilities, giving students hands-on experience in state-of-the-art laboratories, advanced simulation environments, and high-specification design suites. This blend of academic excellence and practical application has established Newcastle’s reputation for producing graduates who are not only technically skilled but also adaptable and ready to contribute to fast-moving sectors such as offshore logistics.
Highlighting its partnership with the local university, Harlyn noted that several of its current employees are graduates from there. Jack Coulson, Harlyn project engineer, graduated from Newcastle University in 2021 with a master’s in engineering. He explained that his time at university provided him with the key academic foundation, which he could then apply when he joined the firm.
“I’ve had the opportunity to deliver full engineering scopes covering seafastening, stow plans, heavy lift, and turnkey projects, working across a range of complex operations,” Coulson said. “In just a few years, I’ve progressed from university classrooms to engineering the transport of 1,500-tonne structures and contributing to some of the company’s biggest global projects.”
In the months ahead, Harlyn will be moving into a new office at the port of Blyth, as HLPFI reported here, while continuing to grow internationally, following the opening of an office in Rotterdam earlier this year. “By drawing on the skills and ambition of Newcastle University graduates, we are helping to retain talent within the region while also offering opportunities to engage with international markets,” Harlyn said.
