A RENOWNED subsea firm is being forced to shed a third of staff as it battles industry challenges, The Northern Echo can reveal.

DeepOcean UK says more than 40 of its 136-strong North-East workforce face losing their jobs.

The company, which supports global projects from its Darlington and Teesside bases, has blamed the cuts on the oil price crisis and Government failure to stop UK offshore work going to foreign rivals.

Consultation with affected staff will end later next month.

The firm is known for specialist trench digging and underwater power cable laying, with its expertise integral to oil, gas and renewable energy projects.

Its offices in Darlington’s Coniscliffe Road provide engineering, design and geo-technical investigation work, with its marine site in South Bank, near Middlesbrough, used to prepare equipment for use.

The confirmation of job losses come just days after the DeepOcean group revealed it was making changes to its international divisions, which include sites in the UK, the Netherlands, Norway, Brazil and Mexico, to stay competitive.

Tony Inglis DeepOcean UK’s managing director, admitted the company was enduring a tough time, but added it was looking to position itself for future successes when existing market strains ease.

He told The Northern Echo: “We are expecting to lose 45 staff after the consultation period.

“It’s a pretty severe number of jobs and it’s a miserable time.

“It’s painful and there are some unhappy people because this is very damaging for employment in Darlington.

“But we are bidding on many large contracts and will continue to operate with enough staff to carry out existing projects.

“We are very good at what we do and next year we’ll launch one of the largest specialist vessels in the world, the Maersk Connector, to take on more work.”

The Government’s Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) previously released a report outlining a vision for wind farm developers to ensure at least 50 per cent of all UK work is spent on British companies.

However, Mr Inglis, who is originally from Australia, said this was not happening, with companies in Belgium and the Netherlands benefitting instead.

He said: “The oil price has had a very definite effect, and the offshore wind farm sector, which has grown in the last few years, has seen a number of contract awards go to Belgian and Dutch firms.

“That’s why we have started a campaign to encourage the Government to make developers aware of the need to raise the UK content to a sufficient level and see what can be done.

“We have years of expertise in the sector and we don’t need to build a factory, we already have a very high level of capability.

“Jenny is actively campaigning towards Whitehall, and particularly towards Vince Cable’s business department.

“That is very helpful because the North-East can do this work and already has the people and skills to do a good job.”

Mrs Chapman said the DECC’s vision to hand at least 50 per cent of work to UK companies had proven to be flawed, but said she believed the sector can recover.

She added: “My thoughts are with the workers and their families because this is a very regrettable situation.

“However, I’m confident the oil and gas industry, and particularly deep sea exploration, has a future in Darlington.

“But the Government made a mistake in implying that at least 50 per cent of contracts would go to UK companies.

“That has not happened.”

Bart Heijermans, the group’s chief executive, previously revealed it was splitting into two main operations, with one focused on a Greater North Sea region (GNS) and another looking at international work.

Speaking to The Northern Echo from DeepOcean’s Netherlands offices earlier this month, Mr Heijermans, said: “We have had a good couple of years, but we now need to re-position the business so it can have more good years in the future.

“For some reason, work is not coming to this region and is going out of the UK.

“We have invested in new trenchers and vessels, but it has been disappointing that, as a strong employer in the region, work has gone to Belgium, Denmark and Holland.”

Mr Heijermans said GNS will merge work across the UK, Norway and the Netherlands, and include roles such as IT, ship management and engineering.

He added it will aim to increase surveying and renewable contracts, with its international organisation focused on expansion in Africa, the Gulf of Mexico and the Middle-East.

DeepOcean has overseen work across the world, including support for the Chinese Liwan 3-1 Project, part of the Liwan gas project.

The company’s Volantis vessel and UT-1 jet trencher carried out trenching and surveying operations over nearly 100 miles on the Liwan pipeline, which connects the Liwan central platform to an onshore gas plant.

Another contract saw it dig trenches for underwater cabling on the £1bn Western Link scheme.

That will transfer 2,200mw of power, enough to serve the needs of about two million people, from Scotland to England and Wales through cables in the Irish Sea.