SUBSEA engineering firms have started to adapt technology developed in areas such as the North Sea to help tackle the coronavirus pandemic.
Neil Gordon, chief executive of industry body Subsea UK, said the products and expertise that firms had developed could allow them to make an important contribution, citing breathing apparatus and life support equipment.
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Firms that have responded to calls for businesses to help include Aberdeen-based JFD Global, which supplies diving equipment.
Managing director Giovanni Corbetta said the firm has developed an effective ventilator that could be manufactured and deployed rapidly across the globe.
He said this could take some of the intense pressure off Intensive Care facilities as the virus approaches its peak in many countries.
Scanning specialist Viewport3, which is also based in Aberdeen, has developed an adaptor that could allow commercial diving equipment to be used to support respiration.
It reckons the adaptor could be produced easily using the kind of 3D printing equipment that is in common use across the UK.
Mr Gordon said Subsea UK would work with the industry and government to identify areas in which firms’ skills and expertise could be put to use in tackling the pandemic.
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It has highlighted the challenges faced by the subsea sector following the recent oil price slump.
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