Tampet awarded UK-based Global Marine Systems Ltd. two contracts in the North Sea, designed to further enhance high-capacity communications networks in the area and entail highly skilled route survey, cable installation and protection services.
Image of C.S. Sovereign, CEM deployment. From Global Marine. |
The first project, which is the fourth contract from Tampnet in a series of critical North Sea installations, is for a platform to platform cable system that includes four branching units. It will incorporate 74.157km of fiber optic cable, with the cable for the second platform being laid to allow for platform connection at a later date. One of the company’s key installation vessels, Innovator, has been contracted to complete the work following the successful installation of a prior Tampnet project in 2014.
Initially, mattress deployment work was undertaken across various oil and gas pipelines, as well as umbilicals. This was prior to Innovator laying fiber optic cable in the centerline of a channelled mattress on the seabed nearly 120m below the surface. The mattress design has been developed specifically for this project utilising concrete mattresses and combining this with recycled rubber providing greater support to the cable over the pipeline crossings and ensuring the cable is retrievable for future maintenance operations, should this be required. This inventive solution requires the extensive capability of Innovator and the Mohawk submersible ROV.
The second contract from Tampnet is for 36km of fiber optic cable installation in the southern North Sea. At one end of the system, the cable end spur has been previously installed ready for connection. Global Marine, using its installation vessel C.S. Sovereign, will recover the spur for the first platform, install a cable joint and lay cable to the branching unit 1km from the cable endmodule (CEM) location near the second platform. The CEM is also being installed by C.S. Sovereign and will be used to tie into another subsea control system, these two subsea structures will be connected at a later date.
“Both projects are currently in progress and going well,” Andy Lloyd, Global Marine director, installation. “Some of the work is more challenging than usual, to say the least, notably the installation of the CEM. Positioning this subsea structure accurately was a crucial part in the overall delivery of this important project and relied heavily on sound project engineering both in the planning phase and subsequently during marine operations. I am pleased to say that we have already deployed the CEM successfully, which demonstrates our skill in this field, and is testament to the proven capabilities of our marine installation vessel, crew and equipment.”