- Markets
- Oil and gas
- Marine
- Nuclear
- Defence
- Transport and infrastructure
- Renewable energy
- Ports and terminals
- Construction
- Services
- Inspection and monitoring
- Lifting and handling
- Marine services
- Mooring and fendering
- Nuclear equipment and services
- Offshore support
- Design and engineering
- Submarine rescue
- Subsea
- Investors
- COVID-19
- Share price summary and chart
- Major shareholders
- Financial information
- Board of Directors
- Advisors and registrars
- AGM information
- Investor news (RNS)
- Governance
- Investor relations contact information
- Be ScamSmart
- Condition monitoring
- Construction plant productivity and safety
- Onshore geotechnical monitoring
- Load cells
- Marine safety systems
- Nuclear plant characterisations
- Offshore safety systems
- PyroSentry™
- Radiation detection equipment
- Strain rings
- Structural monitoring
- X-ray inspection systems
- Container Weight System™
- Crane overload monitoring
- Hose and umbilical reelers
- Lifting equipment
- Load links
- Load shackles
- Marine cranes
- Winches and hoists
- Fuels infrastructure
- Mermaid®
- Offshore personnel
- Offshore Wind Management System®
- Ship management services
- Ship-to-ship transfers
- Ship-to-Turbine™
- Shoreside support
- Surface preparation
- Vessel chartering
- Wind turbine blade inspections
- Site preparation
- Installation and commissioning
- Operations and maintenance
- Digital solutions
- Anchor and chain monitoring
- Deck and mooring equipment
- Fendering
- Flotation
- Line tension monitors
- Mooring load monitoring
- Towing load monitoring
- Building infrastructure and services
- Containerised systems
- Engineered containments
- Manipulators and tooling
- Mechanical and remote handling
- Radiation tolerant equipment
- Remote inspection systems
- Safety and control systems
- Shielded equipment and facilities
- Trials, training and simulation
- Artificial lift
- Compressors and breathing air compressors
- Centrifugal and positive displacement pumps
- Heat suppression
- Offshore equipment
- Offshore pipeline services
- Steam generators
- Safety slick joint
- Safety bails
- Well test support
- Aerospace engineering
- Fabrication
- Hazardous area design and engineering
- Marine projects
- Mechanical and electrical design
- Specialist engineering design
- Specialist structures consultancy
- Atmosphere sampler
- ELSS pods and bags
- Equipment assessment and support
- Flyaway ROV systems
- Inflatable freeboard extender
- Intervention targets
- James Fisher Submarine Rescue Service
- LR5 manned submersible
- Submarine escape training tower
- Submersible mating targets
- Subsea operations training
- Transfer under pressure systems
- Dive equipment
- Diving services
- Remotely operated vehicles (ROVs)
- Salvage
- Subsea excavation
- Subsea engineering
- Containerised deployment solutions
- Launch and recovery systems
- Swimmer delivery vehicles
- Special operations consultancy
- Special operations training
- Company reports, accounts and presentations
- Dividend centre
- Financial calendar
- Five year record
- Sector review
- Our stakeholders
- Committees
- Principal risks and uncertainties
- Business ethics, anti-bribery and corruption policies
- Modern slavery act transparency statement
- Gender pay report
- Tax strategy
- Health and safety
- Our people
- The Sir John Fisher Foundation
- Board changes - Remuneration
- James Fisher Renewables backs APAC offshore wind growth with six in-market appointments for Korea and Taiwan
- James Fisher and Abu Dhabi’s NMDC Group sign strategic agreement
- James Fisher Renewables commits to further investment in Taiwan to support local government
- JFD completes three consecutive Submarine Rescue Exercises in Quarter One 2022
- Archive
- JFD conducts a hydrostatic pressure test
- James Fisher increases offshore wind asset operations and maintenance (O&M) portfolio
- JFD hosts a dive tank test and demonstration
- JFD tests a submarine hull at their National Hyperbaric Centre
- Archive

Core inspection expertise
James Fisher Nuclear has won the contract to manufacture highly specialised inspection tools for EDF Energy's fleet of nuclear reactors.
Since 2012 EDF Energy (EDF) has been using special ‘eddy current inspection tools’ which were specially developed by James Fisher Nuclear (JFN) to help assess the health of the graphite blocks that make up the reactor core of many of its nuclear energy sites.
It is vital to regularly monitor the graphite that is critical to the safe generation of electricity and so ensure the continued safe operation of EDF’s nuclear reactors. But an increasing desire to extend the safe life of existing nuclear plants has stimulated the need for ever more advanced inspection technology.
The multinational electricity generator has been working closely with JFN in recent years to ensure the inspection technology is as sophisticated as possible. When EDF was given a ten-year extension on Dungeness B it asked JFN to upgrade its inspection system and ensure it was fully compatible with the specifics of the Dungeness B reactors.
The teams worked in collaboration with Serco (now AMEC), Bloodworth Consultancy and Manchester University to design a new highly sophisticated evolution, called ECIT. The system is undergoing final tests, and JFN has been given the go-ahead to manufacture three ECIT core inspection units at its modern engineering facility in Malton, Yorkshire, with a view to delivering the final tools and all their equipment by the middle of 2019.
The new system has been further developed to be robust and adaptable enough to provide reliable and accurate data in the hostile and highly radioactive environment of the reactor cores of EDF’s fleet of operating advance gas cooled (AGR) nuclear power stations. The data from each inspection is relayed to operators on the charge face – on top of the nuclear reactor - to enable rapid assessment of the condition of the core by the EDF Energy inspection team.
The EDF commission is for three tools, each of which having a control console, a calibration unit and a storage unit to allow safe handling and transportation of the tool once it’s been in the core.
‘The recent product development has combined all the good design of our previous system along with operational experience from the field to significantly improve it,’
Explains project lead for JFN, Sarah Town.
‘We were asked to modify the tool specifically for use in Dungeness B nuclear power station, which has much tighter size restrictions, and this added to the engineering challenge,’
Sarah adds.
The increased understanding of changes to the status of these cores will enable energy companies to improve the assessment of station lifetimes to help keep costs down and reduce downtime. EDF Energy owns and operates 15 nuclear plants at eight nuclear power stations in the UK. These stations have an approximate combined capacity of just under 8.8 million kilowatts (kW): a significant proportion of the UK's total installed electricity generation capacity.
How it works:
ECIT works by applying an electromagnetic field to the graphite bricks which make up the reactor core. Because graphite is electrically conductive, eddy currents are induced in the material. This electrical conductivity can be measured to give an indication of graphite density and stability. The eddy current generates data and highlights heat spots and any weaknesses or changes in density or cracks in the graphite which could have a significant impact on the reactor.
The ECIT control console has been improved, making it more ergonomic and easier to work with as well as to clean and decontaminate. This will make ECIT safe to handle and transport once it’s been in the core.
Other articles within Spring 2017
Young painters of the world
James Fisher Shipping Services has launched an international children's painting comp...
Offshore expansion for Subtech
Subtech increases its offshore presence with significant new contract wins.
Core inspection expertise
JFN has won the contract to manufacture highly specialised inspection tools for EDF E...
JFSE designs underwater trenching tool
James Fisher Subsea Excavation has developed a powerful new tool capable of trenching...
Wind farm construction is galloping ahead
The teams at JFMS have been hard at work on the nest construction phase of the new Ga...
JCB's Hydradig gets a Prolec upgrade
James Fisher Prolec has been working closely with construction machinery specialist J...
BP eyes new visualisation technology from R2S
BP has been the first oil major to pilot the use of R2S Mosaic on its Clair platform ...
Under the surface with: Tanya Valova
We find out how Tanya Valova, of Australian marine engineering consultancy Maritime E...
Ground control to Major Tom
JFD's communication system, HeliCom Matrix makes the world's first astronaut-to-deep-...
Inspection, operation and insight
James Fisher Marine Services (JFMS) has made two important acquisitions which strengt...
HSSE diver in it for the long run
While most of us were enjoying a relaxing Easter weekend, professional diver Adam Fry...
James Fisher bids farewell to Captain Smith
After a lifetime working at sea and 20 years with James Fisher, Captain Dennis Smith ...
Apprentice of the year award
A Hughes Sub-Surface Engineering apprentice has been awarded apprentice of the year a...
Diving into the Chinese market
JFD’s newly formed joint venture with a Chinese diving equipment company has landed...
Strainstall in world first product approval
Strainstall’s market-leading container weighing system, CWS, has just received full...
Success for JFMS in cutting-edge tidal project
JFMS and Mojo Maritime celebrate the completion of early construction at MeyGen’s t...
Joining the fight against illegal animal trade
Tanker charter company, JF Everard has joined a global taskforce backed by the Duke a...
Fendercare secures Asia-Pacific port deal
Fendercare has successfully extended its contract with one of the busiest ports in th...