Fugro Galaxy

(Stavanger) NO-UK Com AS and Altibox Carrier are pleased to announce that the marine survey for the NO-UK submarine fibre cable between Newcastle and Stavanger is now underway. Since the contract came into force in February 2020, the permits required to commence the offshore survey activities have been obtained by Xtera and the MV Fugro Galaxy has now started survey operations in the North Sea.

The marine survey will gather the sea-bed data required to finalise the marine route and allow selection of the appropriate cable types, which will in turn allow the installation permitting and manufacturing processes to commence.

“It’s great to have the Fugro vessel mobilised, and with the marine survey starting ahead of schedule we can make the most of this summer’s weather window to complete the survey operations and be ready to use the seasonal window in 2021 for the cable installation. This keeps us well on track for our ready for service date at the end of 2021, which is good news for our project & for our investors. We appreciate all the efforts of our turnkey contractor; Xtera and of Fugro and Subsea Networks in helping us to achieve this significant project milestone despite the additional challenges of COVID-19” stated Geir Ims, Chairman of NO-UK Com AS.

NO-UK is a new high capacity 8 fibre pair submarine cable linking 700km across the North Sea between Norway and the UK that will significantly improve data connectivity for Norway. The system is being designed and manufactured by Xtera using their new high fibre count submerged amplifiers and will use armoured and buried cable for the entire route. This will minimise the impact on the environment and the fishing communities whilst maximising the system protection and reliability.

© NTB Norway, source NTB English Press Releases