Function
The equipment ensures that the cable is safely deployed from the vessel to the sea bed.
What it costs
This is included in the offshore cable installation contract.
Who supplies them
Cable-laying equipment is usually provided by the cable installation contractor; in that case, it is either part of the vessel or must be mobilised.
Equipment manufacturers: Ecosse Subsea, Fraser Hydraulic Power, Hulst Cable Equipment, MacArtney, Osbit, Royal IHC, SMD and Sparrows.
Equipment rental providers: Caley Ocean Systems, CWind, Demanor, Drammen Yard, Ecosse Subsea and RentOcean.
Key facts
Cable handling equipment is designed to protect the cable’s integrity and to ensure the cable is deployed in a controlled manner at the correct speed.
The cable is stored either on a carousel, in a static tank or on a reel. To exit the storage area, a tensioner is used to grip and move the cable toward the chute where the cable is deployed onto the sea bed whilst ensuring no bending takes place below the cable’s minimum allowed bend radius.
During a second-end pull-in or pull-in at the offshore substation, a quadrant is used to deploy the end of the cable on the sea bed before it is pulled in.
What’s in it
- Cable highway or rollers
- Chute
- Quadrant
- Tensioners