VEHICLE REVIEW | Heavy-duty cable burial plough compatible with various subsea sediment types
Subsea cable installation specialist Prysmian has placed a new custom burial vehicle into operation.
The heavy-duty plough will be used for burying submarine cables deep under the seabed. The burial tool – which Prysmian said is its most powerful and largest yet – is one of two that have been procured from UK-based Soil Machine Dynamics (SMD) and will be used for the burial of power cables at a maximum of five metres (16 feet) beneath mean seabed level.
This is an improvement over the two to three metres (6.6 to 9.8 feet) that can be achieved by many other burial ploughs currently in operation.
Designed for challenging soil conditions
The tool, which was developed jointly Prysmian and SMD will make cable burial more effective and keep the cables even more protected. It will be deployed for operation on Prysmian’s latest-generation deep-sea cable installation vessels, Monna Lisa and Alessandro Volta.
“This additional asset added to our arsenal puts us in a better than ever position to carry out the most tricky submarine cable installations,” Valerio Acquaotto, Marine Operations Director at Prysmian, told Baird Maritime.
The plough has been designed to bury a conventional multi-core power cable, a bundled two-pole power cable, and a quad bundle up to a maximum depth of five metres beneath the mean seabed level. In addition to ensuring that cables are protected from damage caused by external hazards such as natural erosion, fishing gear and anchors, this process also reduces the need for maintenance to be done on the cables throughout their useful lives.
As the vessel deploys a cable, the plough will carve out a trench in the seabed and guide the cable into it. The cable is then buried in natural sediment. Because the plough can be used to work with a range of seabed conditions, it can be deployed in various regions worldwide.
According to Paul Davison, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of SMD, this technology is ready to support 2GW offshore grid connections that are crucial for linking energy generation to security of supply. The quad bundles will provide grid connections from next-generation offshore wind farms to key industrial hubs within continental Europe.
Improvement in cable burial capability in response to growing demand
They will also link renewable energy resources to high-density demand by an offshore link, offsetting the need for land cables, pylons and disruption to the local population.
“We needed a tool that keeps cables safe during burial and carries out operations in the most effective way,” Acquaotto said. “This was built upon previous generations [of burial tools], and is yet another step forward.”
In Acquaotto’s view, ensuring the capability to protect cables at such depths while keeping the dimensions of the plough itself within set limits was the main challenge encountered during construction.
“The scale of such a challenge meant that we needed to establish strong partnerships with experts, in this case, with SMD,” he told Baird Maritime. “This approach helped address a number of challenges.”
Even amid challenges, the development of the plough taught Prysmian the importance of constant improvement of its capabilities in order to satisfy the requirements of its customers.
“The seabed remains tricky, but it’s through investments like this that we make submarine cable installation even more effective.”
Neither Prysmian nor SMD has disclosed any details about the plough's dimensions, electronics, or other key equipment as of the date of this review's publication by Baird Maritime.
