OFFSHORE RENEWABLES

Fugro now offers cable laying

11 years ago

Fugro is expanding its offering with the installation of a compact, custom-made, cable-lay spread onboard its trenching vessel, ‘Fugro Saltire’.

'Fugro Saltire' deploying Fugro’s Q1400 trencher and at the stern the cable-lay spread system

The cable-lay spread comprises a reel drive system to store the cables, a tensioner to lay them, twin winches and a quadrant deployment system on rails. The equipment is fitted to the rear deck of the vessel alongside the existing trenching equipment.

“We can now offer clients simultaneous cable-laying and burial from a single vessel, or alternatively our larger subsea construction vessel

Fugro Symphony

can be laying cables, while the

Fugro Saltire

is trenching them, speeding up operations and saving time for our customers,” said Mike Daniel, trenching business line manager, Fugro Subsea Services.

In operation the cables are initially pulled into the base of the wind turbine generators (WTG) and then laid along the seabed using

Fugro Saltire’s

dynamic positioning system to line them up accurately with the destination WTG. They are then pulled in using the quadrant system to manage the cable during over-boarding and pull-in.

Fugro says the quadrant’s compact design and deployment enables it to control the cable precisely while pulling in the second end.

In addition, the system features new 3D sonar technology to supplement ROV support, and monitor precisely, onsite, cable touch down during the cable-lay and pull-in operations, where the daily hazard of very high currents can limit the use of an ROV.

The initial concept for the new cable-lay capability was developed during trenching operations at the Humber Gateway Offshore Windfarm, when E.ON asked Fugro to investigate laying some cables from the

Fugro Saltire

. Fugro’s engineers fitted the cable-lay equipment in six weeks, ahead of E.ON’s deadlines, and cable-laying was completed by February 2015.

“The mobilisation of the cable-lay spread on the

Fugro Saltire

has widened our successful working relationship with E.ON on the Humber Gateway project. As well as trenching 77 array cables, we installed eight array cables along with second end pull-ins of cables already laid by other contractors,” added Mr Daniel.

By Rachael Doyle