THE IMPORTANCE OF CABLE RECORDS MANAGEMENT Brian Perratt Manager, Global Support Services Global Marine Systems Limited Email: brian.perratt@globalmarinesystems.com Global Marine Systems Ltd, New Saxon House, 1 Winsford Way, Boreham Interchange, Chelmsford, Essex, CM2 5PD, United Kingdom 1. OVERVIEW Records Management is the systematic control of the creation, maintenance, use, reproduction and disposition of records. The seabed is becoming cluttered. Cables are laid, repaired and re-routed. Retired cables remain on the seabed. We see graphs showing growth and increased submarine cable activity across oceans, with links festooned around the continental shelves. In our efforts to become environmentally conscious, we position wind farms offshore. Seabed power cables have a similar growth picture. Having properly managed records is therefore becoming a very important subject. Managing records is often overlooked. It is either low on the list of priorities or assumed that someone else such as the maintenance provider is doing it. The importance of keeping good system records is of the utmost importance and should not be ignored or seen as a nice to have. You wouldn t buy a brand new car and not keep the service history up to date, so why would you do anything different with a multimillion dollar cable system. It is the responsibility of the cable owner to maintain records for their cable system. This extends to its location, straight line diagrams, cable armour type, dispersion, burial depth etc. Not just for the installation but for changes that result from repairs or from new cables and pipelines that are laid across an existing system. A cable ship operator or maintenance provider only updates route position lists for the cable owner after a repair, often these are not properly checked and errors can be introduced. Page 1 of 5
If cables and pipelines are not accurately charted, it can result in costly mistakes. Ships can be loaded with incorrect cable types for a repair, they can cut through or damage uncharted cables, recover the wrong cable, damage uncharted repair bights or even cause damage to pipelines Cable owners can maintain their own records, outsource or ensure the service is included as part of their maintenance contract. With over 2 million kilometres of cable installed and even more planned the seabed is quickly becoming saturated particularly in the choke point areas. This leads to the traditional 3 times water depth of separation between cables not being feasible. Thus knowing exactly where your cable is and keeping the records up to date is vitally important. Global Marine System has the latest Geographical Information Systems (GIS) software and a dedicated team of charting specialists that are able to liaise with cable owners and distribute records via a secure website. We have standardised formats and strict quality control measures. We aim to improve service standards within maintenance agreements and offer document management as a standardised service thus raising the overall quality of the maintenance service offered. 2. A CONGESTED SEABED In recent years the seabed has become more and more congested, particularly in choke points such as the Singapore Straits, the Luzon Straits and the Red Sea. Table 1 lists the approximate amount of cable currently on the seabed worldwide. Figure 1 gives a world overview of the cable infrastructure Table 1: System Type Number of length (km) systems In service Fibre Optic 270 975,000 cable Out of service Fibre Optic cable 50 130,000 Coaxial cable 280 320,000 Telegraph cable 700 660,000 Totals 1300 2,085,000 Figure 1 When multiple faults occur in these choke points (such as those seen following the earthquakes around the Luzon Straits) this further highlights the need for properly managed records. Multiple vessels can be on site at the same time. It is therefore important for system security that all operators in the area have access to the up to date records. 3. PROBLEMS CAUSED BY LACK OF PROPER RECORDS MANAGEMENT PROCEDURES Global Marine Systems Limited holds a database of over 4000 historical cable faults, a number of which have occurred as a direct result of having poorly managed cable records. Page 2 of 5
A selection of examples is detailed in the following paragraphs, these are all real events that have happened on more than one occasion. It is important to note that no one maintenance supplier or cable operator is identified or singled out, this is a problem across many areas of the industry. Example 1; Unmarked crossing (Figure 2) Cable system A had no updates carried out on the RPL. A new in service cable was laid over the top of it. A recovery operation on the original system was to take place. The newer system was mistakenly cut as the cable ship was relying on the RPL for crossing information and was therefore unaware of the newer system This resulted in costly repairs to the in service system and delayed the operation to the original cable. Simply updating the RPL with new crossing would have prevented this issue. Abandoned cable caught and brought to surface, tested and found to be faulty in both directions, multiple faults assumed. Eventually recognised that it was not part of the in service system. Huge amount of time wasted with associated costs. This resulted in long delays to the repair operation which could have been avoided by ensuring that the section of out of service cable from previous repairs was charted and marked on the records. Figure 3 Example 3; Uncharted repair bight (Figure 4) Figure 2 Example 2; Abandoned cable (Figure 3) Cable system A required to be repaired. Repair is in an area of previous repairs that left a large section of abandoned cable on the seabed, this was not identified in the records. Cable system A repaired, bight introduced to route. RPL updated but not issued to relevant marine authorities and other seabed users. New cable system planned as per ICPC recommendations, however, planned around pre repair route. New system (unaware of repair bight) is installed and breaks cable A during plough operations. Repair costs responsibility of cable A owner as other seabed users unaware of the bight location. This problem could have been avoided by ensuring the correct procedures were in place for informing other seabed users. This situation has also occurred when the Page 3 of 5
bight position has not been added correctly to the RPL. Figure 4 Example 4; Wrong position in RPL (Figure 5) Fault reported on cable in area of a gas pipeline. Pipeline crossing position added to RPL. Crossing not checked properly against other sources. Cable ship to grapnel over area of repair, incorrect pipeline positions provided to the ship. Ship decided to located cable using ROV The ROV finds the actual pipeline 2km from the RPL position, exactly where the ship was due to grapnel. Luckily using the ROV avoided a serious incident. This example could have led to a very serious incident with huge financial and environmental implications. The ship had planned to grapnel immediately, luckily the decision was taken to investigate using the ROV. This is when the serious discrepancy in position was found. Figure 5 The above examples are just a few of the problems caused by lack of proper records management. A further aspect of this is ensuring that all relevant seabed users and maritime authorities are also kept up to date with cable updates. This then ensures system security. In a recent incident a hydrocarbon well was being drilled when the drill head wrapped around an out of service cable. 3 miles of cable was found to be wrapped round the drill shaft. This caused delays to the drill operation, luckily the system was out of service, however, this could just as easily happen to an in service system. Pictures of the above can be seen at: www.rigg-access.com/wwwboard/download.php?id=463 4. THE SOLUTION Cable records management is by no means a straightforward thing to do. There are various software packages such as document management systems and GIS that play an invaluable part in providing the service. However, the software is next to useless without skilled, industry experienced people to run it. It is important that whoever is inputting data or updating records has a full understanding of the industry and the operation being added. They will need to quality check the data and have the ability to recognise often subtle errors that could have a major impact on future operations. Some cable operators have this in house expertise and are able to carry out their own records management. Many others do not have this resource. In this case there are 2 options: Page 4 of 5
1. Outsource the records management to an experienced company such as Global Marine Systems Limited Strict quality control measures Supply of specialist GIS software Liaise with other seabed users and Hydrographic bodies 2. Ensure that a records management package is included in the maintenance solution provided. The service should provide a fully auditable records management system with easily accessible RPLs, SLDs, charts etc. Ideally these will be posted on a secure website and will have a Web based GIS as part of the solution. This will give the user instant access to up to date relevant information. GIS packages provide a number of benefits: Full coordinate control and distance measurements Quick access to vast amounts of geographically referenced data Numerous data layers can be overlaid Statistical analysis based on geographic location Electronic Admiralty charts Inclusion of survey and as laid route data 5. CONCLUSION With the ever more congested seabed it is becoming more important than ever to ensure system records are kept up to date in a well managed and timely manner. Records management should not be seen as a nice to have or forgotten about. It is an essential part of the maintenance of any cable system ensuring system security and above all helping to reduce costs. Suppliers of records management services should be able to provide the following: A dedicated team of experienced people performing records management. Personnel with a full understanding of the industry and industry requirements Liaise closely with cable owners to ensure their needs are met Distribute updated records via secure website with individual customer login Utilise extensive industry experience to help ensure system security Try to standardise formats as much as possible Page 5 of 5