Phase 1 of Cable Lay Spread Completed at Rampion Offshore Wind Farm

Fugro has completed phase one of cable laying operations on schedule at the Rampion Offshore Wind Farm, as the programme takes a break over winter.

The installation of 60 cables was completed at the end of October – three more than the 57 cables originally planned. Subsea construction vessel Fugro Symphony commenced site operations in August, having transported some 75 kilometres of cable to the Rampion site, off the UK’s Sussex coast, on its 2000t carousel. Sister vessel Fugro Saltire completed cable burial in November using Fugro’s high performance Q1400 subsea trenching system.

Both vessels will return next spring, complete with Fugro’s full cable installation equipment spread, to install the remaining 62 cables in phase two. Completion is expected by summer 2017.

Mike Daniel, business manager for construction at Fugro Subsea Services, said, “The cable laying operation at the Rampion site shows the successful integration of our trenching services with full subsea cable installation for offshore wind farm developers. We have been particularly satisfied with the performance of the new track base unit we developed for our FCV deepwater ROVs.” Fugro’s innovative new system enables subsea cable positioning work to continue even in strong currents, as the ROV is able to run along the seabed instead of flying through the water.