Marlinks to monitor Norther cables

Cable-monitoring company Marlinks has secured a contract to provide cable depth and temperature monitoring for the Norther offshore wind project in Belgium.

Both the wind farm’s export and inter-array cables will be monitored using Marlinks’ technology.

The company said that its DTS-based technology (Distributed Temperature Sensing) harnesses the power of optical fiber to continuously monitor the changes in temperature and burial depth with a high spatial resolution, which allows operators to react quickly at the first sign of failure.

The installation of the system started in the last quarter of this year and is expected to be completed in early 2021.

“Undersea cables are the Achilles’ heel in our business,” said Norther’s Executive Director Thierry Aelens. “We have chosen Marlinks as our monitoring partner because their data and models help us prevent such damage—a service worth millions.”

Norther comprises 44 MHI Vestas 8.4 MW turbines located some 23km offshore Zeebrugge. The 370 MW offshore wind farm became fully operational in May.