Coda Octopus Reports Cable Laying Success

Cable Installation for Offshore Windfarms

Cable installation for offshore wind-farms is a challenging operation, with a continuous requirement to monitor the cable catenery (bend radius) and the cable position to ensure the cable is not overstretched or damaged during installation.

The Coda Octopus Echoscope has been employed on a number of wind-farm cable projects both on surface vessel and ROVs, including recent operation on a large project off the eastern coast of the UK. During this project, the Echoscope successfully imaged the cable touch-down point whilst mounted on the cable-laying vessel.

Use of the Echoscope significantly reduced the reliance on ROVs to monitor the cable touch-down point, enabling continuous working with no down-time due to low visibility conditions thereby saving significant time and money.

In addition to monitoring the touch-down point, the Echoscope software Underwater Survey Explorer (USE) Models+ function was used to insert a geo-referenced model of the cable lay corridor. This gives a continuous visual reference for the installation operator to confirm the cable is being laid within lateral positional tolerances on the sea-bed, reducing the risk of expensive re-work. A unique feature of the Echoscope is the ability to see obstacles such as rocks ahead of the touch-down point allowing for careful and controlled cable laying around hazards.

The Echoscope operator can record the position of the cable touch-down point as the cable is laid, and the accuracy of this record was confirmed by both ROV and divers, reducing the requirement for both, and again saving money on operating costs.

In a project organised by our French Agents Cadden, the Echoscope was successfully used by LD Travocean in the installation of a hybrid electrical/fibre-optic cable between Quiberon and Belle Isle. The 150mm diameter cable touch-down point was continuously monitored and recorded in water depths up to 35m. On completion of the installation, the Echoscope was used to complete an as-laid bathymetric survey, removing the need for a separate multi-beam survey thus saving the operator time and money. The image below shows the cable lying on the sand-waves of the seabed.

For more information please contact sales@codaoctopus.com.