Sonar monitors windfarm cable touchdown

The work involved providing positioning and survey services for the installation of a power cable at the Thornton Bank Wind Farm off the Belgian coast.

This is a significant development for the Echoscope as it is the first time the sonar has been used to monitor the touchdown of a cable into a trench on the seabed. Using Echoscope, the operator was able to visualize in real time the cable’s catenary and touchdown point in three dimensions as it was being laid. It was also used to visualize and monitor the pull-in of the cable into the J-tube. This gave the operator an immediate 3D view of the subsea scene during the operation, resulting in confident decision making.

Using CodaOctopus’ proprietary USE (Underwater Survey Explorer) software with its ‘augmented reality’ capabilities it was possible to overlay a computer generated image of the planned siting of the cable onto the sonar view to confirm the cable was being laid on target. Work is ongoing but early results indicate that this approach has led to a major increase in productivity.

Jurgen Beerens, commercial manager at Deep BV said, “This project has proven to us that using Echoscope can bring significant productivity gains. By ensuring the correct siting of the cable and by making necessary adjustments as it is being laid, we were able to work continuously without having to stop to check its position. We therefore avoided having to go back and take remedial action.”