About
Submarine Power Cables
Title
Issue Date: November 2011
International Cable Protection Committee Ltd
2006-2011 International Cable Protection
Committee Ltd
Contents
Role of Submarine Power Cables
A Brief History
How Submarine Power Cables Work
Installing a Submarine Power Cable
Submarine Power Cables and the
Law
Submarine Power Cables and the
Environment
Other Seabed Users
www.iscpc.org
Role of Submarine
Power Cables
Historically, submarine power
cables linked shore-based
power grids across bays,
estuaries, rivers, straits, etc
Now submarine cables carry
power between countries and
to offshore installations, e.g.
oil/gas platforms and ocean
science observatories
Submarine cables also transfer
power from offshore renewable
energy schemes to shore, e.g.
wind, wave and tidal systems
Offshore wind farm, Kentish
Flats, UK
Source: ELSAM Denmark
www.iscpc.org
Importance of Power
Cables
Power transfer from energy sources,
including offshore renewable energy
schemes, to consumers
Interconnecting different regional electrical
transmission networks to allow global
trading of energy
Supply to remote areas
Power (and communications) for offshore
installations
With growing reliance on offshore-based
renewable energy schemes, many countries
now class submarine power cables as critical
infrastructure
www.iscpc.org
A Brief
History
1811: 1st submarine power cable
installed in Germany, insulated with
natural rubber
1924: Lead extrusion introduced as a
water barrier
1937: 1st synthetic insulation cable butyl rubber
Modern HVDC cable Source: ABB
1952: Introduction of oil-filled
insulation
1954: 1st Submarine HVDC Cable
installed between Gotland and
Vstervick (Sweden) - 98 km long
1962: 1st ethylene-propylene rubber
(EPR)
insulation
te: See
Glossary
for explanation of above terms
1973: 1st cross linked polyethylene
Modern HVAC cable with fibre
optic telecom cable (arrow)
Source: ABB
www.iscpc.org
Early Submarine Power
Cable
Horses pulling submarine power
cable ashore to form terminal,
around 1930; Washington, USA
Source: Kingston Community
News
115kV single conductor submarine power
cable - 1962
www.iscpc.org
Modern Submarine Power
Cable
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Conductor usually copper
Conductor screening usually extruded
Insulation XLPE or EPR
Insulation screening semi-conductive
Screen
Laminated sheath aluminum tape and
polyethylene
7. Optical fibres optionally used for
telecommunications
8. Fillers as needed
9. Binder tapes
10. Armour Bedding polypropylene strings
11. Armour galvanized round steel wires
12. Serving bituminous compound, hessian
Construction varies with manufacturer and seabed
tape with
coloured
stripe
conditions,
withpolypropylene
more armour added
where,
for
Source: Nexans
example, waves and currents are strong
www.iscpc.org
Power Cable Types
Two basic types of cable:
HVAC (High Voltage, Alternating Current) is
limited by transmission distance, normally
less than 80km
HVDC (High Voltage, Direct Current) used for
longer distances and for system
interconnection. AC is converted to DC for
transmission through the cable and back to AC
at the other end
Two basic types of insulation:
Paper insulated and fluid filled (often includes
lead sheath for water blocking)
www.iscpc.org
How Power Cables
Work
HVAC Cables: Alternating Current transmitted
down each of three conductors
HVDC Cables: Direct Current transmitted down
a primary conductor and requires a return path
provided via another conductor or via
seawater using an anode/cathode
Note: Communications within a power cable system are often
achieved by the inclusion of a fibre-optic package to carry the laser
light signals. For more information about fibre-optic submarine
cables please refer to About Submarine Telecommunications
Cables on the ICPC website.
www.iscpc.org
Typical Submarine Power Cable System
Network
Management
Shore
Station
Armoured
Cable
Cable links with
other
Terminus, (e.g. an
island) or renewable
energy system
(wind, wave, tide),
Joint
oil /gas platform,
ocean observatory
Grid
Connection
NOT TO SCALE
Source: UK Cable Protection Committee, Alcatel-Lucent Submarine
Networks and Guernsey Electricity
www.iscpc.org
Cable Size
Middle range of
oil/gas pipeline
diameters
(600 mm)
Power cable diameters are up
to 300 mm depending on
current-carrying capacity and
amount of armour protection
Inshore
submarine
fibre-optic
cable (50
mm)
Submarine oil/gas pipes can
reach 1500 mm diameter,
whereas submarine
telecommunications cables
are 17-50 mm diameter
depending on armour
Submarine
power cable
(150 mm)
www.iscpc.org
www.iscpc.org
Cable
Weight
Deep-sea fibreoptic cable,
sectioned to
show internal
construction;
fine strands at
top are optical
fibres used to
transmit data
Source: L.Carter
Source: Basslink
Telecommunications cables weigh from 0.7 kg /metre
for unarmoured deep-water types (example shown
above left) to 4.8 kg/m for cables with two layers of
steel armour protection
Power cables weigh up to 140 kg/m depending upon
type
The picture (above right) shows the composite or
www.iscpc.org
Coastal Cable Routes
Cook
Strait
Cable Protection Zone that contains power and
communications cables between the North and
South islands of New Zealand
Source: NIWA and Transpower, NZ
To reduce risk, cables
and protection zones
are identified on
nautical charts
A cable protection
zone is a legal entity
where activities
harmful to cables are
banned
Cable burial in water
depths up to 2000 m
is also a key
protective measure
Effective policing
of
www.iscpc.org
Installing a
Submarine Cable
Installing a submarine cable typically involves:
Selection of provisional route
Obtaining permission from the relevant
authorities
Full survey of route and its final selection
Design cable system to meet conditions of
selected route
Laying the cable, including burial in appropriate
areas
In some cases, a post-lay inspection may be
necessary
Notification of cable position to other marine
www.iscpc.org
Cable Route Survey
Cable routes are carefully surveyed and
selected to minimize environmental impacts
and maximize cable protection
Seabed mapping systems accurately chart depth, topography,
slope angles and seabed type
www.iscpc.org
Cable Route Chart
Cook
Strait
o
o
o
o
CPZ
Source: Transpower NZ, Seaworks NZ and NIWA
Detailed Multibeam
chart showing depth
and topography of
seabed
Used to plan the main
route for submarine
power and
telecommunications
cables across Cook
Strait within the
Cable Protection Zone
(CPZ)
red = < 100m deep
blue = >1000m
deep
www.iscpc.org
Cable Laying Vessels
CS Sovereign installing HV
interconnector
Source: Global Marine
Systems Ltd
CS Skagerrak installing
420 kV Cable
Source:
Nexans
CLV Team
Oman
www.iscpc.org
Cable Laying - 1
Purpose built ships and
barges accurately place
cables on or beneath the
seabed, guided by the
route survey
Power cables are much
larger than fibre-optic
telecom cables, therefore
a differently equipped
cable ship is required for
their installation
Divers may be used to
assist installation in
Power cable laid over the stern sheaves
shallow water
of a cable ship
Source: Global Marine Systems Ltd
www.iscpc.org
Deep water laying may
Cable Laying - 2
Power cable storage tank
on laying ship
Source: Center Marine
Loading/unloading arm
in cable storage tank
Source: Global Marine
Systems Ltd
Bundling power cables for
laying Source: Global Marine
Systems Ltd
www.iscpc.org
Cable Laying - 3
As a cable comes ashore it
may be suspended by
floats and guided into
position by small boats
and divers
Floats are detached or
deflated and the cable is
placed in its final position
as determined by the
route survey, which in very
shallow water may be
undertaken by divers
Source: Basslink
Picture on left shows the
Basslink cable, which
connects the Australian
www.iscpc.org
Cable Repairs
Repair of damaged power
cables require specialist
ships and cable jointing
experts to replace the
damaged section with new
cable
Completion of a repair can
take anything from a few
days to a few weeks,
depending on the extent of
the damage, location of
the fault and time it takes
to mobilise a suitably
equipped ship
A damaged submarine
power cable can impact
A fishing grapnel snagged on a power
cable
(which fortunately escaped major
damage this time) www.iscpc.org
Cable Burial - 1
Cables may be
buried in a narrow
(<1 m wide) trench
cut by water jet or
plough
Power cable installation using
Hydroplow
The plough lifts a
wedge of sediment
so that the cable can
be inserted below
Average burial speed
is around 0.2 km/hr,
dependent on cable
type and seabed
Power cable installation using
Hydroplow
www.iscpc.org
Cable Burial - 2
Cables are typically buried 1 m and
exceptionally up to 10 m beneath the seabed to
protect against trawl fishing, anchoring and
other activities
Multiple cables in the same area are typically
buried some distance apart from each other to
allow for safe maintenance
Burial may locally disrupt the seabed along a
narrow path and form turbid water. The extent
of this is dependent upon burial technique,
seabed type and wave/current action
In the absence of cable-based studies, analysis
of seabed disturbance from fishing and other
www.iscpc.org
Other Protection
Options
Burial is not
always possible, especially in
rocky areas
Alternate methods to protect cable include:
Rock placement
Articulated pipe
Concrete mattress
Periodic surveys are required to check that
cable remains secure
Rock Placement Vessel
Source: Marine Traffic
Articulated Pipe
Source: EMEC
Concrete Mattress
Source: Found Ocean
www.iscpc.org
Cables and the Law - 1
Recognizing the value to humanity of
national and international cables
(communications and power), submarine
cables are protected by international
treaties:
1884: The International Convention for the
Protection of Submarine Cables
1958: The Geneva Conventions of the
Continental Shelf and High Seas
1982: United Nations Convention on Law of
the Sea (UNCLOS)
www.iscpc.org
Cables and the Law - 2
Modern international law extends the
special status of international cables
to all uses:
Telecommunications
Power
Scientific
Military
www.iscpc.org
Cables and the Law - 3
The international treaties establish
universal norms:
Freedom to lay, maintain and repair cables
outside of a nations
12 nautical mile territorial sea
National obligations to impose criminal and civil
penalties for intentional or negligent injury to
cables
Special status for ships laying and repairing
cables
Indemnification for vessels that sacrifice anchors
or fishing gear to avoid injury to cables
Obligations of cables crossing earlier laid cables
and pipelines to indemnify repair costs for
crossing damage
Universal access to national courts to enforce
www.iscpc.org
Cables and the Law - 4
The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, Hamburg, Germany
Source: Stephan Wallocha
www.iscpc.org
Cables and the Law - 5
Legal boundaries of the ocean from Territorial Seas to Exclusive Economic
Zone and onto the High Seas Note: The numbers in (brackets) refer to
www.iscpc.org
treaty articles
Power Cables and
Renewable Energy
Under UNCLOS, cables
directly involved in offshore
wind and other renewable
energy production are
subject to exclusive coastal
state jurisdiction
Although permission from a
coastal state is not required
to lay and maintain a
submarine power
transmission cable outside
of its territorial seas, such
permission is required if the
power cable is to be used
for production of energy
from waves, currents and
Offshore wind farm
Source: Global Marine Systems
Ltd
www.iscpc.org
Power Cables and
Environment
Power cables
to remote areas
and islands have been in place
since early the 1800s
Electromagnetic fields vary,
depending upon cable design
Professionally installed cables
have a benign association with
the marine environment
Cable burial may affect marine
life in a narrow corridor, but
disturbance is temporary and
recolonisation follows
Surface laid cables provide
substrates for marine
organisms
Studies of sediment-dwelling
Taken 4 years after installation,
this picture
shows the Basslink submarine
power cable in its articulated pipe
(arrows) which is coated with a
rich encrustation of marine life
Source: CEE Consultants and
Basslink
www.iscpc.org
Cable Protection Zones as
Sanctuaries
Zones that are created
to protect submarine
cables could act as
marine sanctuaries,
thus improving
biodiversity and fish
stocks
To be effective for this
purpose, a protection
zone must:
contain habitats
that are suitable for
fish and other
marine life
exist long enough
126mm diameter power cable in
Submarine Cable Protection Zone
across Cook Strait, NZ
Source:
Transpower NZ
www.iscpc.org
ffects of Natural Hazards - 1
Damage to submarine cable is mainly caused by
human activities, less than 10% of cable faults
are due to natural hazards
A major hurricane like Katrina can endanger cables by creating
submarine landslides,
strong ocean currents that erode the seabed, and storm surges that
www.iscpc.org
flood coastal facilities
Effects of Natural
Hazards - 2
Submarine cables are exposed to a range of natural
hazards in all water depths and these include:
Submarine earthquakes, fault lines and related
landslides - break or bury cables
Turbidity currents - break or bury
Currents and waves - abrade, stress and fatigue
Tsunami, storm surge and sea level rise - damage
coastal installations
Extreme weather (e.g. hurricanes) - break or bury
Rarely, icebergs or volcanic activity - break or
bury
www.iscpc.org
Effects of Climate Change
Cables may be exposed to risks arising from
global warming, via:
Rising sea level
due to thermal
expansion of
ocean and melting
ice
Increased
windiness and
wave/current
activity
More intense
storms, rainfall
and floods
Changes in
The global distribution of temperature anomalies for
winter 2010. The colder than normal winter in the
USA, Europe and Russia is clear, but so is the warmer
than average Arctic and much of the Southern
Hemisphere. This helped make 2010 the joint
warmest year on record. The scale is degrees
cooler/warmer than the 1951-1980 average
temperature.
www.iscpc.org
Other Seabed Users
Telecommunications
cables laid throughout
the worlds oceans and
spanning all depths
Neptu
ne
Canad
a
Bottom trawl fisheries
extending up to 2000 m
water depth
Harvesting of minerals
and hydrocarbons
Proposed
NW USA
Observato
ries
Marine protected areas
Ocean science
observatories
ICPC strongly supports
constructive interaction
Neptune Canada and US ocean
observatories
with main sensor sites (grey, red, yellow
shapes)
www.iscpc.org
Source: University of Washington
Power Cables and the
Future - 1
To secure supply, meet greater demand and
reduce greenhouse gas emissions, nations are
turning to offshore renewable energy schemes
involving wind, wave and tidal generation.
Some test and working
schemes:
Conceptual European SuperGrid
with selected renewable energy
test sites
European Marine Energy Centre
(wave and tidal energy test
site)
Galway Bay (wave energy
test site)
Thanet Wind Farm (300MW
existing wind farm)
Wave Hub (wave energy test
site)
www.iscpc.org
Power Cables and the
Future - 2
LEGAL
The ICPC is very concerned about:
Coastal State encroachment on traditional
freedoms under UNCLOS to lay, maintain and
repair international cables
Resolution of Continental Shelf boundaries under
UNCLOS
Lack of national legislation to implement UNCLOS
obligationsto protect international cable
infrastructure beyond territorial waters
Restrictions on international cables that are
imposed without any scientific basisto
appeaselocal constituencies, some of which
regard submarine cables as an alternative
www.iscpc.org
Power Cables and the
Future
3
TECHNOLOGY
Cable design and operations
are constantly evolving.
Future systems are expected
to have greater capacity,
reliability and be sited in
deeper water
Longer cable routes are
proposed from nations that
have surplus energy, e.g.
Iceland to Europe
Offshore wind farms and
oil/gas platforms will extend
further offshore
Wave and current/tidal
Hywind floating wind turbine
can be moored in water
depths up to 700m
Source: Statoil www.iscpc.org
Power Cables and the
Future
4
ENVIRONMENT
In some regions of the world, submarine cables
are likely to be exposed to more natural
hazards related to changing climate
Climate change may also affect other marine
activities such as fishing, with potential
impacts on cables
Electromagnetic field studies are on-going to
determine any effects of power cables on
marine life
Measures to preserve biodiversity, ecosystems
and resources via various protection zones in
national waters and the high seas, may impinge
www.iscpc.org
Points of Interest
Longest HVAC submarine cable, 104 km,
installed from Isle of Man to mainland
England, 1999/2000
Longest HVDC cable, 580 km, installed
between Norway and the Netherlands, 2008
Highest voltage (500kV) and largest conductor
(3000 mm), installed off Japan, 1998
Farthest offshore wind farm, 90 km off
Borkum, Germany, 2011
Largest offshore wind farm, 300MW, England,
installed 2010
First power-from-shore Dynamic AC cable for
www.iscpc.org
Glossary
Armour: steel wires around cable for strength and
protection
EPR: Ethylene-propylene rubber, a dielectric developed in
the 1950s and used for insulation of submarine power
cables
Gutta percha: a naturally occurring resin, similar to
rubber, used to insulate cables up to 1930s
HVAC: High voltage alternating current for a
multidirectional flow of electric charge (type of power
delivered to buildings and homes for conventional use)
HVDC: High voltage direct current for a unidirectional flow
of electric charge (type of power typically delivered by
batteries)
Fibre-optic cable: Single conductor cable with a fibre optic
core used for communications
www.iscpc.org
Contacts
Technical Content and General
Enquiries:
Mr. Graham Marle
Email:
Historical and Environmental
Content:
Professor Lionel Carter
Email:
Legal Content:
Mr. Doug Burnett
Email:
Compiled by Jennifer Snyder and Neil Rondorf (SAIC)
www.iscpc.org
Acknowledgeme
Kingston Community News
Alcatel Submarine
nts
Networks
LD TravOcean
ABB
Marine Traffic
Basslink
NOAA
Center Marine
NIWA
LM Glasfiber
Neptune Canada
Elsam
Nexans
European Marine Energy
Centre
OSPAR Commission
Found Ocean
Statoil
Friends of the Supergrid
Transpower NZ and
Seaworks
Global Marine Systems
Ltd
UK Cable Protection
Committee
Guernsey Electricity
University Washington
IEEE
Wikipedia
JDR Cables
www.iscpc.org
ICPC - Sharing the seabed in harmony
www.iscpc.org
