Maritime Link Cables Ready for Installation

The first of North America’s two submarine electricity cables has arrived in Atlantic Canada onboard the cable laying vessel the Skagerrak.

Integral to Emera’s Maritime Link Project, these cables each measure 170 km and weigh 5,500 tonnes .

The first cable was manufactured in Halden, Norway, while the second cable, which is expected to arrive in mid-May, was manufactured in Futtsu, Japan.

The arrival of the Skagerrak, operated by the cable supplier Nexans, marks the start of the submarine cable installation process.

“The arrival of the submarine cables is the result of more than three years of dedication to safety and quality by our team,” said Rick Janega, president and CEO, Emera NL. “This brings us another step closer to the completion of the Maritime Link Project later this year.”

Nexans used two facilities for cable manufacturing, allowing both cables to be produced at the same time. The cable manufactured in Futtsu, Japan, was spooled onto a giant barge in early April, and then loaded onto a heavy lift vessel (HLV) for the long journey to the Cabot Strait to await installation.

The HLV carrying the second submarine cable from Japan will take approximately six weeks to travel to the port in Sydney, NS.

Expected to arrive in mid-May, it will be loaded onboard the Skagerrak once the first cable is installed. Installation of both submarine cables is expected to be completed by late summer.

The Maritime Link is a 500 MW high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission project bringing clean renewable energy from the Lower Churchill project at Muskrat Falls to Nova Scotia.