[Update – the information in this notice has been superseded by more recent notices. The 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 place for this project. This can be accessed via the project description page here.]
Mariners are advised that the cable laying vessel Giulio Verne is continuing with cable installation work in the Firth of Clyde and 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
The cable laying vessel Giulio Verne is has completed cable installation work in the Firth of Clyde and has started laying cable in the Irish Sea. The work detailed in the Notice to Mariners is briefly summarised below.
Firth of Clyde & North Channel: Campaign 4b & 4a
The Giulio Verne has completed cable laying work in the Firth of Clyde. The first cable (4b) has been jointed to the Campaign 6 cable near to Ailsa Craig. Jointing of the second cable (4a) to the Campaign 3 cable is due to take place in the next 2 weeks.
The cables have been buried by post-lay jetting along the route by the vessel Normand Pacific. Some areas of cable remain exposed at cable crossings and at the jointing locations. Details of the exposed cable locations is provided in a separate Notice to Mariners that can be downloaded here.
Irish Sea: Campaign 5a
After completing the cable laying work in the Firth of Clyde, the Giulio Verne surface laid cable between KP233 (approximately 18.5km south-west of the Calf of Man) to KP176 (approximately 16km east of Millen Bay, NI). The southern end of this cable has been jointed to the cable laid during Campaign 2 at KP233.
The cable is currently being buried by post-lay jetting along the route by the vessel Normand Pacific.
Details of the cable route and burial methodology are provided in the Notice to Mariners which 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
- Normand Pacific: Multi Purpose Offshore Vessel | Call sign LAXI7
Vessels will be monitoring VHF Channel 16 throughout the operations.
The vessels involved in this work will be restricted in their ability to manoeuvre and other vessels are reminded to pass at a safe speed and distance. Fishing vessels are advised to remain a safe distance (approximately 1.5 nautical miles) from the free laid sections and the crossing sections. Deployed Guard Vessels will monitor the exposed areas and advise of safe distances locally.
Exposed cable locations
There are several sections of exposed cable along the cable route at locations where cable burial or protection has not been possible and at some remaining planned cable crossing locations. 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 (as of 9th May 2017) has been compiled. This list is included in the notice to mariners that can be downloaded here.
Guard vessels
Guard vessels have been stationed along the cable route during installation and burial to ensure the safety of marine users. They will remain in position until cable protection operations are completed to advise mariners of the location of exposed cable.
In areas where the cable crosses other cables and pipelines that are in service, the guard vessels will remain on station until cable protection has been completed in these locations (either through concrete mattressing or rock placement).
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 Guard Vessel areas and exposed sections are shown in Tables 1, 2 & 3 of the Notice to Mariners which can be downloaded here.
Notices to Mariners
The Notices to Mariners that are presently in place for this project are:-
- Western HVDC Link: Cable Installation Campaigns 4b (Firth of Clyde) and 5a (Irish Sea) – this is the notice described above. It was issued on 9th May 2017 and provides an update on proposed cable installation work in the Firth of Clyde and the Irish Sea. It can be downloaded here.
- Exposed cable locations: Update, Irish Sea North Channel, Firth of Clyde – this notice was issued on 9th May 2017 and provides an update on exposed cable locations in these areas. The notice can be downloaded here.
- Debris – this notice was issued on the 15th March 2017. It informs mariners of the location of some debris that was found during the Pre Lay Grapnel Run along the cable route to the south of the Isle of Man. 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 in 2015 can be downloaded here.
Earlier notices are all rescinded.