ED1 Cable Route Technical Support & Surveys

Overview

Company: Undisclosed Consortium

Project Location: Orkney-Hoy (Centre), Orkney-Hoy (North), Mull-Coll, Carradale-Arran

Project Description: Hydrofix were contracted to provide technical survey support both onshore and offshore to assist in the installation design of power cables

ED1 Project

Location: Scottish mainland to islands on the north and western coast.

Size: Orkney-Hoy (Centre), Route length, 4.825 km

Orkney-Hoy (North), Route length, 4.592 km

Mull-Coll, Route length, 15.548Km

Carradale-Arran, Route length, 6.388Km

Project Scope:

  • Provision of an Onshore Technical Survey Manager for multi-vessel operations
  • Provision of Route Desktop Study and UXO Desktop Study & detailed risk assessment, Threat Assessment and Mitigation
  • Provision of Land/ Nearshore/ Offshore Geophysical, Geotechnical, Environmental Client Representation for the proposed power cable routes

Responsibilities and Services Encompassed:

  • Technical Survey Manager to oversee and manage multiple surveys
  • UXO Desk Top Study for sites to assess risks before surveys commenced
  • Oversee site investigation survey contracts (geophysical, geotechnical, UXO, Environmental), including scope preparation, tender evaluation, award, and Contractor QHSE document review
  • Management of Offshore Supervisors
  • Quality assure and approve Contractor survey data and reports
  • Develop in-field selected route and optimise route development processes
  • Conduct technical review of Contractor deliverables on Client’s behalf

Project Benefit:

Hydrofix provided technical survey support for the ED1 Submarine HVAC Cable Project over a 16-month period. Our involvement included onshore and offshore survey management of UXO, geophysical and geotechnical surveys, and ensuring environmental compliance.

We supplied an Onshore Technical Survey Manager and Offshore Client Representatives to coordinate multi-vessel operations across multiple cable routes. Our team applied their expertise in route engineering and UXO threat assessment to help optimise cable routes and address potential hazards, aiming to reduce project risks and delays.

Hydrofix’s approach to survey management, from desktop studies to post-survey processing, focused on delivering high-quality and coherent data that guides both immediate and long-term project outcomes. Throughout the project, we emphasised HSE compliance to maintain operational efficiency and regulatory alignment.

This support assisted our client in addressing complex survey requirements across diverse locations, contributing to the groundwork for cable installation in challenging seabed environments whilst meeting the required technical quality and operational safety standards.