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Nexans completes repair of 200 MW Malta-Sicily interconnector

By: Rameeza Haq Duggal 21/05/2020 4C Offshore

Cables General Interconnectors

The Nexans Inspection, Maintenance and Repair (IMR) team has completed the repair of a 95km subsea cable linking Malta with Sicily, ensuring the continuity of power supply to the island of Malta. The Interconnector was damaged at the end of 2019 by a ship anchor, causing a nationwide blackout and a series of power cuts in subsequent weeks.

Nexans Polar King, a 110 meter-long modern multipurpose subsea vessel held on long-term charter inspected the cable damage initially. The vessel’s remotely operated vehicle (ROV) identified the anchor damage at approximately 25km offshore from Sicily and found the cable cut in two at a depth of 150m.

Nexans Capjet water-jetting system was used to expose the cable that had been buried into the seabed. The damaged part of the cable was then cut out and the ends sealed off to prevent further damage.

Inspecting the spare length of cable and joints, held in store by Enemalta, to ensure their usability was a critical part of the operations.

In mid-February, the cable repair vessel was mobilised to Malta to load the spare cable. A section of the spare cable was spliced in at the damaged area in mid-March 2020, to enable the interconnector to be re-energized successfully, only three months after the damage.

The Polar King will return shortly to use its Capjet water-jetting system to trench the repaired cable section to a depth of approximately 1.5m.

‘Nexans was extremely responsive and led both the planning and execution of the repair. They understood our critical need to get this interconnector fixed for our electricity supply and they delivered!’, commented Enemalta plc CEO Jason Vella.

Nexans manufactured and installed the Malta-Sicily Interconnector cable in 2014.

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Nexans completes repair of 200 MW Malta-Sicily interconnector

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