Pelagian
Subsea Cable Specialists
Telecommunications
Pelagian’s founders have contributed to the success of the submarine telecoms sector for over 25 years.
We have a long track record of involvement with the industry, having been employed by the major cable manufacturers and associated companies in the fields of marine survey and cable installation. We maintain those close working relationships today, providing our experience and knowledge across a wide range of engineering disciplines.
Case Study: Personnel and Consultancy Services for Hibernia Express
Pelagian provided expert consultancy services and personnel to the Hibernia Express project, the first trans-Atlantic telecom cable to be installed for over 10 years on a unique low latency route laid in very challenging seabed conditions.
Pelagian’s consultancy services included the management of survey and installation programs, permitting research and stakeholder management including the preparation of Notice to Mariners and information for the public.
During the 2 year project, Pelagian provided key personnel for the survey and installation campaigns and contributed to the success of the Hibernia Express project, which was awarded “Project of the Year – Subsea” and “Best Subsea Innovation” at the Global Carrier Awards in 2015.
Case Study: Caribbean Sea Concession Block Stakeholder Agreements
Pelagian were contracted to provide expert permitting consultancy services for a telecom project in the Caribbean Sea.
The work scope consisted of researching the extents, activity and operational status of offshore oil/gas concessions off the northern coast of Colombia. After completion of the research, the work encompassed negotiations with the lease block owners to define a safe corridor for the planned cable route through the area.
Pelagian used its extensive knowledge of worldwide oil/gas concessions to develop a permit management system which was used to track the requirements, progress and costs associated with each lease block crossing.
Case Study: International Cable System Permitting Consultancy Services
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.
Case Study: Main One Permitting Consultancy Services
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.
Case Study: Main One Geophysical Survey
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.
Case Study: Middle East Cable Route Studies
Pelagian have compiled numerous Middle East based Cable Route Studies in the last 10 years for telecom customers, planning multi landing cable routes in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, UAE, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Iran and Pakistan.
The Cable Route Studies provided a resource of information regarding natural and manmade hazards to the cables, permitting and environmental considerations and the design of cost effective and efficient routes to a variety of different landing countries.
Pelagian supported these projects with a proven track record of project work in the Middle East combined with an intimate knowledge of business practices, permitting and regulatory considerations and system security.
Case Study: Mediterranean Cable Route Studies
Pelagian have compiled numerous Mediterranean based Cable Route Studies in the last 10 years for telecom customers, planning trunk and spur cable routes from Northern Europe to Southern France, Italy and Spain across to Egypt, Turkey and Cyprus.
The Cable Route Studies provided a resource of information regarding natural and manmade hazards to the cables, permitting and environmental considerations and the design of cost effective and efficient routes to a variety of different landing countries.
Pelagian’s expertise in cable landing selection, marine permitting and risk assessment helped to generate a variety of diversified routes across the Mediterranean, where space for new cables is becoming difficult to engineer and environmental legislation becoming much more significant for project planning.
Case Study: Annual Depth of Burial Survey
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.
Case Study: Isle of Wight Telecom Cable Route Study
In 2014 Pelagian were contracted to research a desk top cable route study for two new domestic fibre-optic cables between Portsmouth on the UK mainland and Ryde on the Isle of Wight.
The Solent was a challenging area for the study. The routes sympathetically considered the important coastal habitats and also numerous marine activities. These included fishing, commercial shipping, recreational boating and yacht races and the planned Portsmouth regional dredging campaign.
The two cable routes were chosen to minimise the impact of both natural and manmade hazards present in the Solent and provide safe and diversified routes between the UK and the Isle of Wight, protecting internet connectivity for the local population.
