GeoForce Technical Services, part of Oceanscan and the wider Venterra Group, has been selected by Reach Subsea to deliver the geotechnical component of a wider offshore survey campaign for the Shetland HVDC Link 2, a nationally significant program to strengthen Great Britain’s transmission network and support future renewable energy growth.
Running from late February to August 2026, the sixmonth campaign for Scottish & Southern Electricity Networks Transmission (SSEN Transmission) will support the development of an around-330km, 2 GW subsea connection between Shetland and the Scottish mainland, forming part of SSEN Transmission’s longterm Beyond 2030 strategic network plan.
“We’re proud to support Reach Subsea on a project of this scale and national importance. By delivering fast, accurate geotechnical insight, we help transform complex seabed conditions into confident engineering decisions – strengthening the UK’s future transmission network and contributing to a more resilient, cleanenergy system. This award reflects the depth of our continued collaboration with Reach and the trust placed in us to support SSEN Transmission’s future network ambitions,” said James McDonald, GeoForce managing director.
As part of its scope, GeoForce will deliver specialist geotechnical acquisition and analysis, including seabed characterization, sediment analysis and core penetration testing. These insights will feed directly into route optimization and installation design, giving SSEN Transmission a higherresolution understanding of subsurface conditions and derisking engineering decisions ahead of cable installation. This work is essential to ensuring the subsea cable can be routed and installed safely, efficiently and effectively across varied offshore conditions.
The contract award builds on the established relationship between GeoForce and Reach Subsea across previous offshore site investigation projects, bringing together expertise to accelerate highquality, decisionready data delivery.
“GeoForce provides specialist geotechnical expertise that will play a key role in the success of our campaign with SSEN Transmission. Their capabilities complement our integrated project delivery onboard our vessels and will help ensure we acquire the high-resolution seabed data needed to support SSEN Transmission’s design and routing activities, while maintaining the highest standards of safety,” said Alastair McKie, Reach Subsea UK managing director.
GeoForce’s contribution also supports the broader role of its parent company, Venterra, in enabling offshore wind growth and subsea infrastructure development through its specialist businesses across the project lifecycle, from earlystage analysis through to offshore execution.
More info: www.venterra-group.com
