Subsea engineering services firm Irish Sea Contractors has launched a new, patented, in-house developed subsea power cable repair solution and in-house subsea jointer training programme.
This innovative technology addresses the challenges of lifting subsea cables to the deck of the cable ship for repair.
The technology is targeted at subsea cable operators as well as turnkey cable repair solution providers operating in water depths of zero to 200 metres and on cables up to 220kV.
The system is based on the simple premise of replicating a cable repair ship deck, subsea. The unique habitat design can be pre-loaded with all required cable jointing and repair equipment prior to deployment. The system can be used both on-deck for cable repairs when a cable lift is unavoidable, and can be deployed by on-deck cranes to undertake repairs in-situ, subsea.
Working together with the subsea power cable industry, Irish Sea Contractors have developed a comprehensive in-house subsea jointer training programme to smooth the uptake of the subsea cable repair solution.
The cable repair solution habitat was developed in part based on subsea pipeline welding technology from the oil & gas industry, married with over 30 years’ in-house experience in providing bespoke subsea solutions to customers across the marine industry and extensive power cable installation and repair experiences. In enabling in-situ subsea cable repairs Irish Sea Contractors claim that an average power cable repair can be undertaken up to 50% cheaper and in worse weather conditions compared to traditional methods.
Irish Sea Contractors expect to make the prototype cable repair habitat available for rental by end 2018.