A SUBSEA firm operating out of the North-East has been awarded Australian work.

DeepOcean UK, which has an office in Darlington, will carry out trenching and surveying Down Under.

The firm, which also has a marine site in South Bank, near Middlesbrough, says the contract will be delivered by its Volantis vessel and UT-1 jet trencher.

The work is a welcome boost for the company after it was previously forced to shed North-East jobs in response to the lower oil price and claims the Government wasn’t doing enough to help UK businesses win work on wind farms in British waters.

In January, the firm revealed it would cut at least a third of its then 136-strong workforce in the region due to the pressures, and refused to rule out further changes.

It is known for providing trenching services for oil and gas contractors and operators in Asia and the Pacific, with previous work including trenching and surveying on 100 miles of pipework on the Chinese Liwan 3-1 gas project.

Tony Stokes, DeepOcean’s managing director of Asia Pacific and Middle-East work, said: “We are extremely pleased to receive this award in Australian waters.

“It highlights the requirement for such trenching technology in the region and the demand for expertise found in DeepOcean.”