The team at ABL Group shares the passion, vision and values for working in energy and the world’s oceans, de-risking and driving the energy transition. We are driven by the idea that the best work is born from professionalism, diligence… and fun. You know ABL Group, but do you know our team?
Rob Kelly | Engineering Manager & Naval Architect, Canada
What does your day-to-day look like at Longitude? 
My day-to-day at Longitude is varied and there really isn’t a typical day. I manage a small team of structural engineers and naval architects, and I am focused around managing engineering projects, coordinating the team’s workload and working with colleagues in multi-disciplinary teams to deliver the best results for our clients.
I am also responsible for the commercial aspect of the team so I have to manage future workload as well, through proposal and business development activities. I also collaborate quite a bit with our sister entities ABL – the energy and marine consultancy branch of ABL Group, and OWC – the renewable energy consultancy branch of the Group.
In fact I sit within ABL’s local operations in Canada, as part of Halifax office, whilst working with both ABL and OWC teams in Canada and the USA. Longitude provides engineering analysis and advice on various projects in which both are involved, for instance to support in the marine warranty survey of offshore wind farm transportation and installation projects.
What inspired you to join your industry?
I think growing up on the ocean in Newfoundland, Canada, kind of pushed me to a career in marine consultancy. There were always fishing boats, ferries or tankers nearby so that made me curious to how they operated and how they were built. I began fishing with my uncle in my teens, and sailing in a 45′ boat, 100 miles offshore in the North Atlantic really makes you think about how a vessel is constructed and how it performs.
Can you tell us about something exciting you are working on right now?
We are currently involved in a variety of offshore wind projects where we engineer the installation of equipment on ships to support the installation of wind farms. We recently just completed a Bubble curtain mobilisation. The vessel will be on site during installation of wind turbine foundations and encapsulate the foundation in a blanket of air bubbles during pile driving. Giant rings of bubbles are being used to protect marine animals from the sound of wind turbine construction. We were tasked with engineering the connections for the equipment to the vessel to ensure compliance with ABS rules as well as USCG regulations. We also assessed the vessels’ stability during the mobilisation to ensure the vessel could undertake the task.
What does the future look like in energy and oceans in the region?
I think it is a very exciting time in North America for our industry. There have been a few speed bumps on the way, but I feel we are heading towards positive outcomes. We are seeing new offshore wind leases every few quarters, and a new wave of energy projects starting to pick up on the east and west coasts. Being situated in an industry where we can be involved in every aspect of the projects from initial cost estimation, owner’s engineering, vessel design, to installation, allows us to see the positive direction of the industry.
What do you most enjoy about working as part of the ABL Group team?
For me its the breadth of experience and backgrounds of the group as a whole and the interaction we have on our various projects. There is so much knowledge that gets passed between entities that you learn something new on every project you work on. Whether it’s someone with 30 years of experience in marine warranty survey (MWS), explaining the practicalities (or impracticalities) of a lifting designs or someone who just joined, injecting new ideas from their past experience.
Discover Longitude’s vessel services and expertise in marine operations engineering for offshore wind:
Marine Operations Engineering: Offshore Wind Farm Installation
