Cable installation for Shetland HVDC link to resume next month

NKT is set to commence the second cable installation campaign for SSEN Transmission’s Shetland High Voltage Direct-Current (HVDC) link in the North Sea in March.

The £660 million project includes the construction of a 260-kilometer subsea cable from Shetland to the GB mainland, linking Shetland to the national grid for the first time.

The installation of the first 100 kilometers of subsea cable was completed at the end of 2022, with all onshore HVDC cables installed for the project.

Cable laying vessel NKT Victoria is expected to begin laying the cable as part of Campaign 2, which begins from Weisdale Voe, on 12 March and finish the activities by 10 April.

Once the cable is laid on the seabed, the vessel Grand Canyon III will trench the cable to the required burial depth in the seabed. For any sections that cannot be trenched, rock placement will be undertaken to achieve the required protection.

For the cable pull-in part of the installation works at Weisdale Voe landfall, due to shallow water depth, the cable will be floated into the shore from NKT Victoria. Three workboats will be launched from NKT Victoria along with a fast rescue craft (FRC) that will be utilized to support the pull-in operation.

All the work is planned to be completed by 13 October.

To remind, NKT secured the €235 million contract from SSEN Transmission in the summer of 2020 to deliver and install an interconnector to the project.

The Shetland HVDC subsea link is expected to be completed by 2024.

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