Makai Upgrades Its Subsea Cable Lay Software

Hawaii-based Makai Ocean Engineering informed it has enhanced its submarine cable lay software, MakaiLay, and its desktop simulation sister product, MakaiPlan Pro.

Specifically, according to Makai, three key features are being integrated into the power cable modules for each of these products that are built specifically for power cable installers:

Cable Top Angle. MakaiLay now has the option to use the cable departure angle, or “Top Angle”, which can be measured at the over-boarding point. When high quality measurements of top tension are not available, using the Top Angle enables Makai’s real-time cable model to calculate cable shape, touchdown and tension more accurately during shallow water power cable installations.

Makai has developed a new cable model that includes cable bending stiffness, which is now being used in two new tools: the Shape Calculator and the Heave Analysis tool.

Shape Calculator Tool allows the users to perform rapid static analyses of the cable shape under different lay conditions (currents, slopes, depths) to ensure bend radii and tensions are acceptable.

Heave Analysis Tool allows users to perform analyses for different sea states and lay conditions to ensure that tensions and bend radii are within allowable limits. The tool can be used in office to design a safe lay, or at-sea to make fast decisions about the lay as conditions change and contingencies arise.

“These new power cable features reflect Makai’s commitment to making the MakaiLay suite the most comprehensive tool for power cable installations,” said Dr. Venkata Jasti, Makai’s engineer leading this development. “We are excited to see power cable installers adopting this tool. MakaiLay has been the industry standard for telecom lays for over 15 years, being used to successfully install well over 400,000 kilometers of cable – when it comes to proven subsea cable laying tools, why reinvent the wheel?”