Offshore vessels anchored in English Channel just off Folkestone.

[libertyshiplad]

Siem N -Sea,Olympic Triton,Normand Flower,all at anchor today together with the tug Afon Cefni.Siem N-Sea has been there for a couple of weeks now,with one or two other off-shore vessels anchored with her from time to time.
Wondered if anyone knows what's going on?

[hanny]

I was just about to ask the same thing,the AFON LLIGWY is moored in Dover as well.

[davidships]

Cable repair operations.
See http://www.doverport.co.uk/administrator/tinymce/source/Notices%20to%20Mariners/60-16-%20NR-%20Cable%20Repair%20Operations%20off%20East%20Wear%20Bay.pdf

[libertyshiplad]

Many thanks for the info Davidships,fairly big repair job-3 months.
Maybe caused by the bulker losing power and colliding with a rock barge a little while ago.

[Aquizard]

Could be telecoms cables.

However there are power cables embedded in the sea bed in that area, as part of the 400kV electricty interconnection with France. There are 4 pairs of cables each laid in separate trenches. The French has a capsule called the Habitat that would be lowered onto the affected section, carry out repairs and then return to the surface once the repairs are completed. This is the first thime thnatI have heard of work of this type and nature being done on these cables given that they were laid in the 1980s.  

[davidships]

Yes, it is (half of) the power cables, though not clear whether it was the Saga bulker or another ship.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-12-02/how-a-loose-anchor-cut-up-britain-s-power-link-with-france

[libertyshiplad]

Remember ,after the collision,the Saga bulker was anchored ,(as shown in the photo),roughly in the same position.
Assume to avoid the problem with anchors,this is one of the main reasons why cables are buried in a trench.Out of interest any ideas on the depth of the trenches,not deep enough in this case?
I see on the charts cables are shown,with prohibited anchoring around.

[Aquizard]

At the time, in the mid 1980s, the cables were laid jointly by the (EdF) French and (CEGB) English. The French used a cut a trench and lay the 270kV direct current cables in one go. Whereas the English did a cut a trench lay a hawser in it. Follow up with a use the hawser in the trench as a guide to lay the 270kV cables in it. IIRC we are talking about a depth of 1m in the sea bed. With the cables being covered up by movement of the seabed sediments.

Interesting after all these years of operation its the first time that a ships anchor has caused a fault on two sections of these cables that I can remember having woirked for the CEGB and NGrid.

It means trading across the link on the remaining cable 1000MW. With a hudge insurance clain against the owners of the ships who caused the damage. A repair job like this is expensive running potentially into millions. This excludes the loss of trading for the 1000MW of the link being unavailable. February 2017 is planned for the repairs to be completed what date I do not know.

[libertyshiplad]

Thanks Aquizard,pretty serious,surprised it didn't seem to make the newspapers.

[Aquizard]

Only if the lights went out big time and there is currently, more going on politically with the likes of Brexit and whats happening in the US.

As an update to this thread, it was reported in some newspapers (Telegraph and FT) as early as November and December 2016, presumabely after the collision and when the damage happened. But as stated above it was of little importance given other continuing events going on at the time.

[libertyshiplad]

A fourth,the "Havila Phoenix" is now at Dover,in addition to the three mentioned in my first post.