NO-UK cable marine survey underway

Marine survey for the NO-UK submarine fibre cable between Newcastle and Stavanger is now underway.

The vessel Fugro Galaxy has started survey operations in the North Sea.

The survey will gather the sea-bed data required to finalise the marine route and selection of the appropriate cable types.

This should also in turn allow the installation permitting and manufacturing processes to commence.

Geir Ims, chairman of NO-UK Com AS, said:

“It’s great to have the Fugro vessel mobilised, and with the marine survey starting ahead of schedule we can make the most of this summer’s weather window to complete the survey operations and be ready to use the seasonal window in 2021 for the cable installation.

“This keeps us well on track for our ready for service date at the end of 2021, which is good news for our project & for our investors.

“We appreciate all the efforts of our turnkey contractor; Xtera and of Fugro and Subsea Networks in helping us to achieve this significant project milestone despite the additional challenges of COVID-19.”

NO-UK is a new 8-fibre pair submarine cable linking 700 kilometres across the North Sea between Norway and the UK.

The system is being designed and manufactured by Xtera.

Xtera will use its high fibre count submerged amplifiers as well as armoured and buried cable for the entire route.

This should further reduce the impact on the environment and the fishing communities whilst maximising the system protection and reliability.