MMT cable route surveys
MMT of Sweden reports it is presently completing detailed route survey operations for the planned Monita 119km subsea cable installation in the Mediterranean linking Italy and Montenegro. Work is being carried out under contract to Nexans Norway AS, which is responsible for supply and installation of the power cable for the high-voltage direct current (HVDC) link between the two countries.
Operations are conducted aboard MMT’s 56-metre survey and ROV vessel, Franklin, and involve extensive geophysical and gradiometer surveys, cable tracking, ROV probing and geotechnical sampling in both shallow and deep waters. Meanwhile, in a separate development, the company says it has recently started production of a new-generation ROV specifically designed for pipeline inspection and seabed surveys, Survey Interceptor.
Developed in association with Reach Subsea of Norway, the new craft is said to be capable of realising improved levels of accurate data at much higher speeds, resulting in substantially improved inspection quality at much-reduced cost.
By David Goodfellow
