Pelagian has contributed to the mapping of subsea cable projects for over 25 years and we understand the techniques required to obtain high quality seabed data from cable landing point out to the deep-ocean.
Our comprehensive knowledge of global permitting and environmental regulations provides a valuable service to survey companies operating worldwide to meet the needs of their customers.
Pelagian were contracted to provide permitting and regulatory services to a major International Cable System project, working on behalf of the cable installer and system owners.
The work scope consisted of data gathering for countries in Europe, the Mediterranean and the Far East segments of the cable system.
Challenges included the negotiations with French authorities on landing point selection and the crossing of areas of Posidonia Seagrass and sensitive negotiations in Thailand where the cable is planned to pass through a protected area. These negotiations informed both government and the cable owners of the specific requirements to minimise environmental impact to achieve a successful cable route.
Pelagian were contracted to provide permitting and regulatory services to the Main One Cable System project, working on behalf of the cable installer and system owners.
The work scope consisted of detailed in-country data gathering at a diplomatic level in all but one of the North and West African countries from Morocco to Nigeria and development of the data into a sophisticated permit management system which was used to track the requirements, progress and costs associated with each country.
The permit work encompassed detailed knowledge of government and regulatory requirements for cable landing points, work in Territorial seas, traverse of EEZ waters, crossing of oil/gas concessions and negotiation of agreements for both survey and cable installation. The work was successfully completed without delay or penalty, considered a first in the history of a West African cable project.
Pelagian in partnership with a major international survey company, successfully bid for the Main One Cable Route Survey in 2008. This was a significant landmark in Pelagian’s history and the company’s largest single contract award at that time.
The scope of work comprised geophysical surveys for the Main One cable system from Portugal to Nigeria from landing point to deepwater. Pelagian provided expertise in cable route engineering and landing point selection, operational permitting for the survey vessels and burial assessment knowledge to the CPT sampling campaign.
The project was successfully surveyed in 2009 without any delays caused by permitting or regulatory constraints, considered a first in West African cable survey experience. Pelagian also provided permitting expertise for the successful installation of the cable in 2010.
Pelagian has been providing annual depth of burial surveys on a subsea telecom cable in Europe for the last 10 years. This cable is located in an environmentally sensitive shallow water area, where numerous cables from both telecoms and offshore renewables / power make landfall in Northern Europe.
The seabed in the area is prone to sediment mobility, potentially exposing the buried cable to external risks such as fishing and anchoring. The area has also recently seen a number of new projects with increased construction shipping activity, serving the offshore wind farms.
The survey is undertaken using high resolution multibeam bathymetry, sidescan sonar and subsea cable tracking equipment mounted on a sled. This is used to determine the depth of cover of sediment and enable direct comparisons with the previous years’ survey, to monitor the burial status of the cable.
