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Industry

Survey of underwater cable crossings and communication lines

Most underwater cable damage occurs in coastal and shallow zones - exactly where an inspection-class vehicle operates. The task: locate the route, check burial depth and protection, and record exposures, spans and trawling marks.

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Regulatory basis

There is no single mandatory inspection frequency for cable lines: the scope and timing are set by the owner's maintenance rules, while protection zones restrict works and anchoring. Demand here is operational and incident-driven rather than calendar-based: industry data puts the damage rate after cable burial at about 0.44 breaks per 1,000 km a year, and attention to protecting underwater infrastructure has grown after a series of incidents in the Baltic.

Documents
  • Maintenance and repair rules for cable communication lines
  • Line owner's maintenance regulations
  • Restrictions within protection zones of communication lines
Assets

What PROMETEY inspects

Cable route and deviations from design position
Burial depth, exposures and free spans
Protective coatings and ballast
Cable crossings under rivers and canals
Trawling and anchor damage marks
Bed changes and scour along the route
Honest about the limits

A cable has to be located and followed along its route, not inspected at one point. A diver covers a short section per dive; the vehicle follows the line continuously, records video and - with sonar and a magnetometer - logs the route and foreign objects nearby.

Questions

How does the vehicle help during a line failure?

It shortens the search. Reflectometry narrows the fault to hundreds of metres; then the cable must be found on the bed and the damage seen - which the vehicle does before lifting the cable or calling a cable ship.

Is extra equipment required?

Side-scan sonar and a magnetometer help with route tracing - both are available as payload. For visual checks the camera and lights are enough.