SeaKing Electrical completes Suez Canal radar installation

Birkenhead based marine engineering firm SeaKing Electrical has recently completed work on a major upgrade of the Suez Canal radar system.

The equipment is now in operation guiding nearly a million tonnes of cargo annually.

SeaKing Electrical which employs 150 electrical engineers undertook the work for Norwegian offshore traffic management specialist Vissim.

SeaKing Electrical Group business development manager Neil Mellenchip said the firm is delighted to have completed its work on such a high profile installation.

“The Suez Canal Radar upgrade was a terrific opportunity for SeaKing to showcase its work on a large scale international project,” he said. “As one of the busiest and most vital global trade links, it is essential that authorities are able to track and guide marine vessels accurately. The installation went to plan and the upgraded system is now actively assisting more than 17,000 ships each year.”

SeaKing Electrical dispatched eight electrical engineers to Egypt to complete the contract. Work involved changing nine 18ft radar heads on top of 60 metre towers. The radar towers are located strategically on either side of the Gulf of Suez starting at Safaga and Sharm El Sheikh, covering 400 miles of the Suez Canal. The firm also installed internal cabling in equipment rooms of manned and remote control stations.

Mr Mellenchip, whose team of engineers underwent rope access training to operate safely at heights, said the project demonstrates the firm’s commitment to win work on further international marine projects.

“The Suez Canal contract was overseen by expert electrical engineers who spent long periods of time working in the remote Egyptian outposts,” he said. “The job’s completion highlights the credentials of SeaKing to plan and execute complex overseas installations to the highest standards and showcases our ability to work on similar marine projects such as wind farms where opportunities for expansion exist.”