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Tugs & Towing by Jack Gaston

GPS Marine Continues to Diversify

GPS Marine Contractors Ltd, based at Chatham in Kent UK, is emerging as a major player in the marine sector, offering a wide range of services including towage, marine transportation, salvage, heavy-lift, marine civil engineering, demolition and dredging.

GPS Marine Contractors have diversified into salvage, heavy lift and dredging.
GPS Marine Contractors have diversified into salvage, heavy lift and dredging.

Originally formed back in 1964 as a small-scale ship repair business, the company evolved into a successful tug and barge operation in the Thames and Medway area and over the past two decades the company has grown and diversified beyond recognition. Initially the company’s core business became the transportation of aggregates, sand, and excavated spoil to and from major construction sites and aggregate terminals. This led to considerable involvement in projects such as Canary Wharf, resulting in the acquisition of improved floating plant and rapid growth into other sectors.

The organization currently has a fleet of some 62 vessels that operate throughout Europe and the UK. The GPS Marine fleet contains tugs, barges, dredging plant and heavy lift floating cranes and is configured to provide integrated contract solutions as main contractors with sufficient flexibility to undertake spot and term charters.

Towage remains an important aspect of the organization’s workload. GPS continues to grow its business in the local sand and aggregate distribution business in the Thames & Medway area. Transportation of such products and the removal of excavated spoil by water is currently being encouraged for environmental reasons and the company is working with major suppliers to develop distribution services further. A network of at least eight wharves are served regularly, enabling aggregates to be transported from the lower Thames at Northfleet to various strategic locations in and around Central London. Excavated spoil is removed by tug and barge and the company has licenses for disposal at a high capacity site in the Medway area.

The tug fleet comprises inland and seagoing tugs capable of undertaking local, coastal and international operations under contract or whilst supporting other GPS projects. Other floating plant currently in service includes crane barges, flat top barges, dry well split and bottom door hoppers, dry cargo barges and dredging equipment.

For 17 years GPS has proved successful and resourceful in undertaking and assisting all types of dredging activities throughout the UK and Europe. Dredging operations undertaken include maintenance and capital works utilizing the backhoe method of dredging. Disposal of dredged spoil can be carried out by a fleet of split and bottom door hoppers or by means of a 1,600 bhp reclamation dredger. Work is carried out under contract or as part of integrated projects and when required, plant can be offered for hire.

In 2005 GPS took a major step forward by founding a wholly owned subsidiary in Sliedrecht, the Netherlands to expand it’s business in Europe. The Dutch arm of the company operates three floating sheerlegs, with a lifting capacity of 1,150 tons, and supporting tugs to carry out heavy lift projects, salvage, wreck removal, marine demolition and diving activities. This has proved to be a highly successful activity for GPS. Tugs, sheerlegs and other elements of the fleet, supported by the highly experienced Sliedrecht based salvage team, are available day and night throughout the year. Salvage operations on seagoing and inland craft are routinely undertaken worldwide. Between January 2006 and June 2007 at total of 28 salvage and wreck removal operations were successfully completed in various locations as diverse as Tenerife and Eemshaven. At the time of writing, the sheerlegs 'GPS Atlas' was working at the site of the 'MSC Napoli' wreck removal.

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GPS Marine Contractors have diversified into salvage, heavy lift and dredging.

All images copyright © Mercator Media 2008

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