Green Marine Expands Capabilities to Support UK’s Vital Cable Infrastructure
Offshore specialist Green Marine is expanding its capabilities to support the UK’s vital intercountry power and communication transmission cable infrastructure. Cable networks form the backbone of the nation’s energy distribution system, playing a critical role in the transfer and balancing of power and communications across regions (both domestic and international). A significant portion of these are high-voltage subsea cables, including the Western HVDC link cable which Green Marine has previously serviced.
However, these extensive domestic and international cable networks remain vulnerable to environmental threats, accidental damage, and other geopolitical tensions. Recent events have underscored these risks, such as the major power outage that impacted millions across Spain, Portugal, and parts of France due to a fault in a key interconnector. This incident highlighted the vulnerabilities of Europe’s energy grid and the cascading consequences of failure.
Key Interconnection Cables Supporting the UK
Key intercountry cables supporting the UK include the IFA and IFA2 (UK–France), BritNed (UK–Netherlands), Nemo Link (UK–Belgium), North Sea Link (UK–Norway), and the Viking Link (UK–Denmark). Other vital UK links include SSEN Distribution’s subsea cable network connecting the Scottish mainland to 60 islands and the upcoming Eastern Green Link 1 and 2, connecting Scotland and England. Green Marine UK has also been involved in the BT-R100 cable network project connecting 15 remote islands around Shetland with fiber optic cables.
In October 2024, Green Marine UK achieved a significant milestone by completing over 50 complex cable operations across various sectors, including offshore wind, oil and gas, subsea data centers, and marine energy technologies. Notable collaborations include projects with Naval Group on Microsoft’s Project Natick, support for tidal energy developers Orbital and Meygen, as well as wave energy company CorPower Ocean. Recent projects include cable (de)burial campaigns with OEG Renewables for the Seagreen Wind Farm off Scotland and maintenance work at the Gwynt y Môr Offshore Wind Farm in North Wales with N-Sea.
Specialized Services and Equipment
Operating as a specialist supporting contractor, Green Marine UK offers a range of services including Controlled Flow Excavation (CFE) or Mass Flow Excavation (MFE) tooling, onshore transpooling, cable retrieval to deck utilizing ROV-deployed recovery lines, offshore testing of cable integrity, repair of damaged sections, offshore jointing of cables, and cable burial monitoring with ROV. The firm maintains a full suite of specialist equipment at its Orkney base, including a cable Reel Drive System (RDS), reels, chutes, winches, and moorings.
Green Marine’s expansion of capabilities to support the UK’s critical cable infrastructure underscores the importance of safeguarding these networks against potential threats and ensuring reliable power and communication transmission across regions. With a track record of successful projects and a commitment to innovation, Green Marine continues to play a key role in maintaining and enhancing the resilience of the UK’s cable infrastructure.