Subsea Cables News

Enshore Subsea has installed the first of two offshore export cables at Inch Cape offshore wind farm, using the CMOS Installer cable laying vessel.Operating from the Port of Blyth, the vessel installed the first of two 85-kilometre export cables for the 1.1 GW offshore wind farm, being built off the east coast of Scotland.The 220 kV, three-phase export cable was installed in three 28-kilometre sections.Once operational, the cable will transmit power from the offshore wind farm to the project’s new onshore substation under construction at Cockenzie…

Belgian marine contractor Jan De Nul has signed a contract with Synera Renewable Energy (SRE) for the installation of export cables on the Taiwanese offshore wind farm Formosa 4.To bring the green energy ashore, Jan De Nul will transport, install and protect 60 kilometers of subsea cables.According to the company, it was also selected as the preferred contractor for export cables on SRE’s wind farm Formosa 6, located 55 kilometers southwest of Formosa 4.Situated 20 kilometers off Miaoli County’s coast…

A Finnish district court ruled on Friday that it does not have jurisdiction to prosecute the captain and two officers of the Eagle S oil tanker, who are accused of breaking undersea power and internet cables in the Baltic Sea last year.Finland has said the Eagle S is part of a shadow fleet of tankers used by Russia to circumvent sanctions on its oil exports. The December 25 incident was one of a string of cable and gas pipeline outages in the Baltic Sea since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, putting NATO forces in the region on high alert.

Belgian marine contractor Jan De Nul has ordered a rock installation vessel, specifically built to strengthen the protection of offshore energy and subsea data infrastructure.The vessel, named George W. Goethals, will be the company’s largest rock installation ship to date, with a carrying capacity of 37,000 tonnes. It will be equipped with ultra-low emission technology and engines capable of running on biofuel and green methanol.According to Jan De Nul, using its flexible vertical fall pipe and an inclined fall pipe system…

Europe’s subsea cable infrastructure, the backbone of its digital economy and energy transition, is facing mounting risks from geopolitical tension, climate impacts, and lack of preparedness. In a joint position statement, the European Subsea Cables Association (ESCA) and the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) have warned that regulatory barriers, a shortage of skilled offshore workers and the lack of readily available solutions are compromising the continent’s…

The Federal Communications Commission said on Wednesday it plans to adopt rules to bar companies from connecting undersea submarine communication cables to the United States that include Chinese technology or equipment."We have seen submarine cable infrastructure threatened in recent years by foreign adversaries, like China," FCC Chair Brendan Carr said in a statement. "We are therefore taking action here to guard our submarine cables against foreign adversary ownership, and access…

Taihan’s cable laying vessel (CLV), PALOS, has successfully completed the installation of export cables for the 364.8 MW Yeonggwang Nakwol offshore wind farm in South Korea.The project, being developed Nakwol Blue Heart, is located near Songido, is a large-scale initiative to develop a 364.8MW wind power complex.With a total project cost of $1.6 billion, the facility will generate enough electricity to power approximately 250,000 households year-round upon completion. The overall…

The final inter-array cable has been installed at Îles d’Yeu and Noirmoutier (EMYN) offshore wind farm in France, being developed by Les Éoliennes en Mer Services.The 61st and final inter-array cable was installed on June 22 at the EMYN offshore wind farm, Louis Dreyfus TravOcean said on social media.The accomplishment paves the way for a transmission capacity of 512 MW.Geoquip Marine’s Geoquip Elena, converted into a Cable Laying Vessel (CLV) with a bespoke project-specific deck layout used in the operation…

Finnish prosecutors are considering pressing charges against three senior officers of an oil tanker suspected of damaging undersea power and telecommunications cables in the Baltic Sea in December, police and the prosecutor said on Friday.Finnish authorities suspect the Cook Islands-registered Eagle S of having broken the Estlink 2 undersea power cable connecting Finland and Estonia as well as four internet lines last December by dragging its anchor across the seabed.Finland's…

A Taiwanese court sentenced the Chinese captain of a ship to three years in jail on Thursday after finding him guilty of intentionally damaging undersea cables off the island in February, in a case that alarmed Taiwan officials.Prosecutors said the man was captain of the Chinese-crewed Hong Tai 58, registered in Togo, which Taiwanese authorities detained after suspecting the ship had dropped anchor near an undersea cable off southwestern Taiwan, damaging it.The court in the southern Taiwanese city of Tainan said the ship's Chinese captain, whom they identified only by his family name, Wang, wa

LS Eco Advanced Cables (LSEAC) has launched a five-week public consultation on its proposals to develop a high voltage cable production facility at the Port of Tyne for subsea electricity transmission, designed to transport clean energy generated by offshore wind onto UK shores.While plans are at an early stage and still being finalized, total investment is expected to be approximately $1.2 billion (£923 million), which would put the North East at the heart of the UK’s clean energy…

Italian power grid operator Terna and its Greek counterpart IPTO signed on Monday a deal worth nearly 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion) on a new undersea electricity interconnector between Italy and Greece.The deal was announced after Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni hosted a summit with her Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis at Rome's 17th-century Villa Doria Pamphili, also involving ministers from both countries."(On interconnections) we have an advantage that comes from our geographical location in the Mediterranean…

A study led by the UK’s National Oceanography Centre (NOC) has found that natural hazards account for around a quarter of all recorded instances of subsea cable damage between 1965 and 2019, posing a threat to the growing infrastructure underpinning global connectivity.While human activities like fishing and anchoring remain the primary causes of damage, the study warns that climate change is intensifying many natural hazards, increasing risks to these vital networks.The threats…

Offshore services provider DOF has announced an investment in a modular cable repair spread designed to expedite offshore wind operators’ response to cable faults.Engineered for compatibility across DOF’s fleet of 65 vessels, the system offers an industry-first combination of fleet-wide flexibility, road transportability, and rapid deployment capabilities.Developed in collaboration with engineering specialists, Royal IHC, the spread allows for mobilization and commissioning within 48 hours…

Space Norway and SubCom announced that a contract is in-force for the survey, design, supply and installation of the Arctic Way Cable System. Providing necessary route diversity to a region with rapidly increasing data traffic demands, the new system will become a critical asset for transmitting data between the Norwegian mainland, Jan Mayen, and the Svalbard archipelago.SubCom will produce the components for Arctic Way at its manufacturing campus in Newington, NH, USA. The trunk-and-branch…

Taiwan prosecutors on Friday for the first time charged a Chinese ship captain with intentionally damaging undersea cables off the island in February, after a rise in sea cable malfunctions alarmed Taiwan officials amid tensions with China.Prosecutors say the man was captain of the Chinese-crewed Hong Tai 58, registered in Togo, which Taiwanese authorities detained after suspecting the ship had dropped anchor near an undersea cable off southwestern Taiwan, damaging it.The prosecutors' office in the southern Taiwanese city of Tainan said they had charged the ship's Chinese captain…

Britain's energy regulator Ofgem does not believe an electricity transmission project developed by National Grid Electricity Transmission and SP Energy Networks qualifies to be exempt from penalties related to delays, it said on Thursday.The joint venture between the units of National Grid NG.L and Spain's Iberdrola IBE.MC had requested a 480-day exemption from penalties related to completion delays on the Eastern Green Link 1 (EGL1) due to global supply chain issues and capacity shortages.The project comprises subsea and underground cables linking Scotland to north-east England…

Finland will release an oil tanker which investigators believe broke a Baltic Sea power cable and four internet lines late last year, and will escort the vessel to international waters even as the criminal probe continues, police said on Sunday.The Cook Islands-registered Eagle S was boarded by Finland's coast guard on December 26 and has been held in custody while authorities probed the case, which remains under investigation on suspicion of sabotage.Three crew members remain subject to a travel ban and are not allowed to leave Finland, police said in a statement."The criminal investigation c

Taiwan's coast guard said it detained a China-linked cargo ship on Tuesday after a nearby undersea cable to the Penghu Islands in the sensitive Taiwan Strait was disconnected.Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, has repeatedly complained about "grey zone" Chinese activities around the island, designed to pressure it without direct confrontation, such as balloon overflights and sand dredging.Taipei was alarmed after a Chinese-linked ship was suspected of damaging another cable earlier this year…

Subsea cable services company Asso.subsea has introduced the Marine Technology Business Unit, a strategic initiative dedicated to shipbuilding, innovation and sustainability in offshore energy.The new unit marks a significant milestone in the company’s long-term shipbuilding and fleet expansion plans, reinforcing its commitment to delivering cutting-edge marine solutions tailored to the evolving needs of subsea operations.The launch of the unit is officially inaugurated with the signing of the first shipbuilding contract for the Althea…

Space Norway is set to establish new high-speed connection from the Norwegian mainland to Jan Mayen and Svalbard.Space Norway has signed a contract with SubCom for the full system supply of the Arctic Way Cable System, including survey, design, manufacturing and installation. Scheduled to commence service in 2028, this new system will become a critical asset for transmitting data traffic between the mainland, Jan Mayen, and Svalbard archipelago."While establishing new fibre infrastructure…

An underwater Russian Baltic Sea telecoms cable was damaged by an "external impact," Russia's TASS news agency cited the country's state-owned Rostelecom company as saying on Saturday."Rostelecom's submarine cable was damaged in the Baltic Sea as a result of an external impact some time ago," TASS cited Rostelecom as saying.Restoration work is under way and the incident has had no impact on subscribers so far, Rostelecom added.Rostelecom did not provide further details and it was unclear when the damage occurred.

The Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania completed a switch from Russia's electricity grid to the EU's system on Sunday, severing Soviet-era ties amid heightened security after the suspected sabotage of several subsea cables and pipelines.European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hailed the move, years in the planning, as marking a new era of freedom for the region, in a speech at a ceremony in Vilnius alongside the leaders of the three countries and the Polish president."These chains of power lines linking you to hostile neighbours will be a thing of the past…