Essex-based offshore engineering services specialist Global Marine Group (GMG) has launched a new business unit to provide trenching and power cable laying services to the oil and gas sectors.

The move follows the completion earlier this month of GMG’s acquisition of the trenching and cable laying services business of Dutch multi-national Fugro.

Global Offshore, which will operated from a facility in Aberdeen, will sit alongside the two existing business units of Chelmsford-based GMG - Global Marine, which provides fibre-optic cable installation and maintenance services to telecommunications providers, and CWind, which delivers power cable and asset management services to the offshore renewables and utilities markets.

Ian Douglas, chief executive of GMG, said: “Offshore oil and gas customers, who often operate under demanding conditions, have always been important to the Global Marine Group.

“Adding industry leading and highly sought-after specialist trenching capabilities to our offering should create significant opportunities for our customers and for the entire Global Marine Group for years to come.”