A NORTH-EAST subsea company has turned to a local supplier to expand its fleet of underwater vehicles. 

Darlington-based Modus Seabed Intervention has bought a new advanced remotely operated vehicle (ROV) manufactured by Queen's Award winning Soil Machine Dynamics (SMD), of Wallsend, near Newcastle. 

Modus will be the first operator in its field to deploy the highly manoeuvrable Quasar ROV which enables pilots to perform operations with increased accuracy and reliability. 

It will be the ninth vehicle in Modus’ fleet when it joins this autumn. 

Jake Tompkins the managing director of Modus, said:

“Driving leading edge technology is key to improving efficiency and reducing operational costs and this latest generation ROV is a significant move towards this objective.

“We are very proud to be the first company to deploy this step change in construction support technology, which will enhance the operations and services we deliver to our customers in the offshore renewables and oil & gas sectors.”