London — CRP Subsea (formerly Trelleborg Offshore UK) were awarded a contract by Hellenic Cables, the cable segment of Cenergy Holdings, to supply three different types of cable ancillary products. These have now been successfully installed offshore and will protect significant cable sections along the route of the west cable for the Crete to Peloponnese interconnection project, which will provide Crete with an electricity interconnection from mainland Greece.
CRP Subsea’s latest innovation, Motion Stabilisers, along with Bend Restrictors (including VIV strakes) and Tri-Strakes® C (Combi) VIV suppression strakes, are designed to protect these submarine power cables from environmental damage potentially caused by lateral movement in very deep waters and difficult seabed environments.
Andy Smith, Sales Team Manager (Elastomers) at CRP Subsea, states: “We are extremely proud of this substantial contract award in support of Hellenic Cables interconnector project, which has now been successfully installed. The seabed environment around Crete is extremely challenging with deep water and a variable seabed morphology. Our solutions will enhance stability of the power cables from lateral movement, additional tension, over-bending and fatigue, providing a long-term solution.”
Maria Lamprou, Hellenic Cables’ Project Manager, explained: “We came to CRP Subsea as it has an unrivalled track-record in the design and installation of cable protection solutions. Over the course of the project, the company has designed and manufactured three different types of cable protection solutions to meet the needs of our very demanding project, both in terms of seabed terrain, water depth, installation load and schedule requirements. We are delighted we chose CRP Subsea, whose products were delivered, installed and over-boarded with ease.”
Mitigating axial or lateral pipe and cable walking, the Motion Stabilisers have been designed to reduce slippage on the seabed and mitigate additional tension and damage from movement. Manufactured from CRP Subsea’s highly abrasion resistant API 17L certified Uraduct® material, the Motion Stabilisers assembly is easy on a cable lay vessel, allowing speedy installation.
The construction of an electricity interconnection between Crete and the Peloponnese on the mainland of Greece, will provide the island with a cheaper and more secure energy supply. The aim of the project is to cut the cost of electricity generation in Crete by replacing expensive and polluting oil-fired units with a more efficient alternative from across the Aegean Sea. The project includes laying two new submarine cables, each 135 kilometres long, making this the longest subsea alternative current connection in the world. The interconnector will provide around 34% of Crete’s total electricity demand in 2021.
