Co-funded by the EU Horizon Europe Programme and Innovate UK, WEDUSEA is a groundbreaking partnership project and each of our 14 partners play a critical role in making it happen. The combination of the partners’ unique capabilities and leading edge innovation is the key that will unlock the full potential of our pioneering wave energy project.
WEDUSEA is proud to have Green Marine at the heart of the partnership. As the project’s installation contractor, Green Marine is responsible for the coordination and execution of all marine operations required to deploy OceanEnergy’s 1 MW OE35 wave energy converter at EMEC’s Billia Croo wave test site — making them the company that will physically put the world’s largest floating wave energy device in the ocean.
Green Marine (UK) Ltd, based in Stromness, Orkney, is one of the UK’s most experienced marine contracting firms, specialised in complex offshore operations for the wave and tidal renewable energy sector. Founded in 2012, the company grew from its founders’ deep-rooted experience operating fishing vessels around the world, bringing over 150 years of combined sea time to the marine renewables industry.
Green Marine’s scope within WEDUSEA is substantial. The company will manage the towing of the OE35 device to the Billia Croo site, install the mooring system that secures the device to the seabed, recover and connect to an existing static cable at the Billia Croo site via a dry mate connector joint, before laying a dynamic cable extension to the wave energy converter for pull-in, and carry out the hook-up of the device to its mooring and electrical systems.
Green Marine is also responsible for all marine health, safety, and environmental management throughout the project, and has contributed valuable input during the design phase, drawing on its wider expertise in offshore operations planning, management, and execution to inform component selection and installation planning. At the end of the device’s operational period, the company will manage its safe removal from the marine environment.
There is a strong geographical logic to this partnership. Green Marine’s base in Stromness places the company in the same town as EMEC and makes it the closest marine operator to the Billia Croo test site, just west of the town on Orkney’s Atlantic coast. This proximity is not merely convenient — it means rapid mobilisation, deep local knowledge of the sea conditions, and a team that understands Orkney waters as well as anyone in the industry.
As Green Marine continues to grow, there has been considerable innovation and advancement at the company over the last few months.
As well as delivering the WEDUSEA installation, Green Marine has been expanding its capabilities at pace, investing heavily in new technology, services, and people. Below we highlight four areas of current development that demonstrate the breadth and momentum of this key WEDUSEA partner.
Nearshore cable specialism
Green Marine has established itself as a leading specialist in nearshore cable operations — the challenging, constrained work that takes place in shallow water, close to shore and close to existing structures, where standard offshore approaches and larger vessels often reach their operational limits.
This specialism is directly relevant to WEDUSEA. The company’s work spans cable jointing and connection, short-section lay for inter-array and inter-connector cables, cable handling and protection, and burial and deburial activities. Rather than treating cable work as a single discipline, Green Marine takes a task-led approach — selecting and configuring the right vessel platform, specialist equipment, and operating model for the specific conditions encountered.
The company’s flagship vessel, Green Isle — a multi-purpose, shallow-draft multicat — is typically spread-moored close inshore to create a stable working platform. From there, operations are managed with precision: controlled cable recovery and jointing operations, pull-in support, diver access, and ROV support for visual verification and burial depth confirmation. For the growing number of offshore wind developments around the UK, and for marine energy projects such as WEDUSEA, this nearshore cable capability fills a critical gap. For asset owners, it provides confidence that the most sensitive phases of cable installation are managed by specialists who understand the detail. For major contractors, it offers a partner able to step in where existing assets are not suited to close-to-shore work.
Launch of a new Subsea Services Department
In early 2025, Green Marine announced a seven-figure capital investment in a brand-new Subsea Services Department, targeting the UK’s expanding offshore wind and marine energy sectors. Backed by financial support from Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the investment includes cutting-edge subsea technology from leading manufacturers including Rovtech, Sonardyne, Norbit, Voyis, Tritech, Digital Edge Subsea, and EIVA.
The department delivers a range of in-house turnkey solutions including general visual inspection, 3D survey incorporating real-time SLAM (Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping) and photogrammetry analysis, marine site characterisation, multibeam survey, and operations and maintenance monitoring focused on subsea cables, pipelines, and offshore structures. The investment has been reinforced with the purchase of multiple Rovtech VALOR ROVs, giving Green Marine the ability to deploy without reliance on subcontractors or external equipment availability.
Significantly, the new department is already operational and winning substantial contracts for subsea inspection work across Orkney and further afield — a strong signal that the capability Green Marine is bringing to WEDUSEA is proven and in active demand.
Acquisition of Roving Eye Enterprises
In August 2025, Green Marine completed the acquisition of ROVs, survey equipment, personnel, contract agreements, and the multi-purpose catamaran MV Athenia from long-established Orkney firm Roving Eye Enterprises Ltd. This strategic move built on a long-standing working relationship between the two companies, who had jointly delivered several high-profile marine energy projects — including the installation of Microsoft’s Project Natick subsea datacentre at Billia Croo.
The acquisition significantly strengthened Green Marine’s subsea survey and inspection capability, adding further operational reach, enhanced data quality, and improved subsea intervention capacity. The integration of Roving Eye’s client relationships, contracts, and experienced personnel has reinforced Green Marine’s position as a trusted provider of marine services across the aquaculture, marine energy, offshore cable, and marine construction sectors.
Green Isle achieves Workboat Code 3 certification
In June 2025, Green Marine’s flagship vessel Green Isle became one of the first 10% of UK workboats to achieve certification under the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s new Workboat Code Edition 3 — the most comprehensive update to workboat regulation in over a decade. This certification confirms Green Isle’s status as one of the most advanced and safety-compliant multi-role workboats operating in UK waters, covering structural integrity, stability, lifesaving equipment, and pollution prevention.
For the WEDUSEA project, this matters directly. Green Isle is the vessel platform at the heart of many of Green Marine’s nearshore operations, and its certification to the highest current standard underlines the company’s commitment to safety and operational excellence as it prepares to deploy the OE35 at Billia Croo.
What’s next?
With the UK’s wave energy potential estimated at up to 27 GW, and a global marine energy market forecast to be worth £76 billion by 2050, the sector is approaching a pivotal moment. For Green Marine, WEDUSEA represents a natural continuation of a journey that began with fishing boats in Orkney and has led to the company becoming one of the most versatile and capable marine operators in the UK renewables sector.
The company’s track record includes support for many other breakthrough technologies, as well as WEDUSEA. Its growing portfolio of services now spans mooring design, installation and hookup, cable jointing, lay and pull-in, diamond wire cutting, and controlled flow excavation for cable burial — alongside its new subsea survey and ROV inspection capabilities.
WEDUSEA is looking forward to Green Marine fulfilling its critical role in the deployment of our 1 MW OE35 wave energy converter at Billia Croo in 2026, and to benefiting from their outstanding operational capability, local expertise, and commitment to safety on our journey to commercialisation.
Find out more about Green Marine. https://greenmarineuk.com
