Cable Routes

Buried cables in UK coastal waters carry both telecoms and power between offshore installations, islands and nations. These cables are a valuable asset, and a significant level of planning is required in order to site these in sediments which are stable and have sufficient bearing capacity, and in which the risks to cable integrity (e.g. due to natural geohazards, fishing etc.) are minimal. Partrac support initial route assessments and route engineering design through provision of a range of shallow marine geotechnical investigations, oceanographic measurements and benthic sampling services. We can advise clients on the sampling requirements for specific jobs, and can tailor an approach to meet the clients needs.

Our geotechnical services including shallow (to 6 m) vibro-coring, gravity coring, grab sampling and sample analysis.  We operate in shallow coastal waters (<30 m), and therefore can undertake sampling for inshore cable routes, port and harbour environments and cable landfall locations. We work in association with experienced suppliers to support our coring services with cone penetrometer testing (CPT). For inshore sediment testing we use a light weight and compact CPT which can be deployed from a barge or similar vessel. Our geotechnical capability is complemented by our environmental survey team who take benthic samples and video transects along the corridor of the cable route for identification of sensitive habitats/biotopes.

We also provide a range of services, using only accredited UK laboratories, for sediment analysis, including physical sedimentology, geotechnical parameters and taxonomic identification.

Our data acquisition services are supported through a range of marine geological/geotechnical and environmental consultancy services.

For further details, please contact Dr Kevin Black, kblack@partrac.com.