Fugro’s ROV survey and monitoring services help install world’s longest subsea interconnector

National Grid NSN Link Ltd and Statnett SF are building an electricity interconnector between Kvilldal in Norway and Blyth in the UK which, on completion, will be the longest subsea interconnector in the world. Fugro’s innovative survey and monitoring solutions supported the installation of two cables through the mountain between Hylsfjorden and Lake Suldalsvatnet, and along the lakebed at a depth of 210 m.

Working closely with their client Nexans, the project took 12 months of careful planning and preparation before Fugro provided 1 month of remote and crewed services to support installation of the two power cables. The cable work platform (CWP), purpose built onsite, was mobilised with an FCV1000 work class ROV to perform touchdown monitoring during cable installation. During the cable lay, the cable’s departure angle was monitored in near real time using Fugro’s vision-based InclinoCam system, which does not require sensor packages to be fitted onto the monitored asset, making it quicker and safer than conventional monitoring systems.

Due to limited space for personnel onboard the CWP, the acquired survey Geo-data were streamed in real time to Fugro’s remote operations centre (ROC) in Aberdeen for real-time monitoring and project support, including near-real-time processing, and also to Nexans in Oslo. This remote strategy approach ensured operational continuity and allowed the client to monitor their project with minimal personnel onsite.

Einar Betten, Nexans’ Project Manager, commented: “Fugro performed excellent work during the challenging times of Covid-19 and in a complex technical environment.”

Alastair McKie, Fugro’s Director for Positioning and Construction Support in Europe, added: “We are delighted to have worked with Nexans to help deliver this project. Our team’s extensive planning was time well invested, which kept our client on target and achieved a positive result.”