[Update – the work described below has now been completed. This notice remains as part of the historical record of notices issued for this project. Please refer to the most recent notice for an up-to-date record of the notices presently in force for this project. This can be accessed via the project description page here.]
Mariners are advised that the cable laying vessels Giulio Verne and Go Pegasus are continuing with installation and survey work in the Irish Sea along the Western HVDC Link cable route. This update provides a brief summary of the detail included in the latest Notice to Mariners, which can be downloaded here.
Deep Water Cable Installation Update
In the past few days in in the near future, the Giulio Verne and Go Pegasus have completed the installation of the first cable campaign, and are moving on to carry out survey work elsewhere along the route ahead of upcoming work.
Completion of Campaign 1
The 28km of cable that has been in wet storage to the south of the Isle of Man since December 2015 has now been recovered, joined to the existing cable, and then laid and buried on the seabed. This work now completes Campaign 1 of the Western HVDC link cable.
Survey work, Campaign 3
The cable lay vessel Giulio Verne is now due to support the post lay survey of Campaign 3 (completed earlier this month). Survey work along this part of the cable will be carried out by the vessel Go Pegasus. This survey is due to be completed by the end of August 2016.
Upcoming work
Starting in the second half of September 2016, the vessels Giulio Verne and Go Pegasus are due to be carrying out Campaign 6 of the cable installation, which will run parallel to the recently completed Campaign 3. This work will start between the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland and will terminate in the mouth of the Clyde. A separate Notice to Mariners will be issued for this work to provide specific details.
The notice to mariners describing this work can be downloaded here.
Vessel details
Details of the vessels involved in these operations, along with their present location can be found on MarineTraffic.com via the links below:-
- Giulio Verne: Cable layer | Call sign IBPU
- Go Pegasus: Tug / supply vessel | Call sign V7CE4
Vessels will be monitoring VHF Channel 16 throughout the operation.
The vessels involved in this work will be restricted in their ability to manoeuvre and other vessels are reminded to navigate with caution in their vicinity and pay strict attention to instructions issued to them by navigation authorities.
Exposed cable locations
There are several sections of exposed cable along the cable route including the planned cable crossing locations previously communicated through notice to mariners. These sections are currently being monitored by Guard Vessels which have been deployed locally.
To assist all mariners, a consolidated list of exposed cable locations has been compiled and can be downloaded here.
Vessels are requested to pass at a safe speed and distance and fishing vessels are advised to remain a safe distance (approximately 1.5 nautical miles) from the areas identified. Guard Vessels have been deployed at each location to aid in monitoring the exposed areas and advise of safe distances locally.
The locations of these exposed sections are shown in Table 1 of the Notice to Mariners which can be downloaded here.
Guard vessels
Guard vessels will be stationed as appropriate along the cable route during installation and burial to ensure the safety of marine users. There are presently 4 guard vessels on station along the cable route. The areas being covered by each guard vessel are specified in a notice to mariners that can be downloaded here.
Notices to Mariners
The Notices to Mariners that are presently in force for this project are:-
- Deep Water Cable Installation, Irish Sea – this is the notice described above. It was issued on 20th August 2016 and confirms that the cable to the south of the Isle of Man has been recovered and buried, and provides an update on upcoming survey and cable installation work. The notice can be downloaded here.
- Deep Water Cable Installation, Irish Sea – this notice was issued in August 2016 and provides an update on progress and a notice of activities associated with the recovery and installation of the cable to the south of the Isle of Man. The notice can be downloaded here.
- Exposed cable locations, Irish Sea – this notice was issued in August 2016 and provides an update on the locations of exposed cable areas which are awaiting protection. The notice can be downloaded here.
- Wet storage of cable – this notice advises of the surface laying of a 28km stretch of cable in temporary “wet storage” along part of the Western HVDC Link cable route. The notice can be downloaded here .
- Concrete mattressing – along the cable route concrete mattresses have been laid at crossings of existing cables and pipelines. A notice to mariners about the mattressing campaign conducted earlier this year can be downloaded here.
Earlier notices are all rescinded.
If you have any queries about the Western Link project, please contact Jim Andrews, Fisheries Liaison Officer by e-mail or by phone on +44(0)7908-225865.