Poor weather hits pause on construction of new UK interconnector

Offshore cable operations have been paused for the Greenlink interconnector that will link Ireland and Wales due to poor weather and for maintenance and upgrades on the construction vessel.

The Greenlink Interconnector will link the southeast of Ireland, from Great Island, County Wexford to South-west Wales, at Pembroke, Pembrokeshire.

According to KIS-ORCA, offshore cable installation is complete from the Freshwater West to the median line between Wales and Ireland.

However, cable burial operations have been paused due to poor weather and a requirement for maintenance and upgrades on the Grand Canyon III. Guard vessels remain on site to protect the laid cable which is not fully protected in some small sections, with protection operations set to resume in the first week of April.

Cable burial or trenching activities are performed by Helix Robotics Solution on behalf of Jan De Nul. The operations are performed by the 127-meter-long DP2 offshore support vessel Grand Canyon III with a trenching vehicle along the planned interconnector route between the landfall location near Freshwater West, Pembroke, Wales and the middle of the Irish Sea.

Offshore cable installation is carried out by the cable lay vessel (CLV) Connector.

System testing for the Greenlink interconnector is set to begin in the summer of 2024 and commissioning is expected by the end of the year.