We’ve gone in depth before on how cable terminations are used , now we’re going to explain what sets our terminations apart from the competition.
Many current terminations require an epoxy/polish method of installation. There are many disadvantages to using epoxy. If you’re using heat-cured epoxy, it takes a ½ to cure, but you need an oven to cure it. Room temperature epoxy doesn’t need a special oven, but the cure time can be 2-3 hours or more. When researchers are spending days or weeks out on the ocean gathering information, time is of the essence.
Other terminations on the market don’t use epoxy, but require specialized equipment to install or require extensive cable preparation before installation. In addition, many epoxy-less terminations have a higher connector cost.
PMI provides quality epoxy-less terminations for your ROV needs. Here are 5 that the EVERGRIP Helical Gripping Termination is your ideal solution:
- Faster Installation
The EVERGRIP termination is field installable and easily applied – usually in 30 minutes or less.
- No Special Tools Needed
Our product requires no additional tools or cable preparation to install
- Less Down Time
With the EVERGRIP, there is no need to wait for a termination/retermination to cure.
- Strain Relief for Cables
The special helical rod design relieves strain from the cable. We also have BSR solutions for additional strain relief to prolong cable integrity.
- Reuseable
The housing of EVERGRIP can be used – a Retermination Kit comes at a much lower cost than purchasing a new termination
As new challenges are placed on the ROV industry, PMI continues to provide new solutions to meet those challenges. Whether it’s greater strain capabilities, faster installation or higher cost savings, PMI has the capability to develop and supply the highest quality and reliability solutions.
To read more advice on choosing the best subsea terminations for your project, download our checklist:
7 Questions You Should Be Asking About Your Subsea Terminations
As the energy market continues to turn away from oil and gas and towards renewable energy, many companies that specialize in deep ocean engineering, like PMI, are following suit. One company that has made great efforts to shift from oil and gas into the renewable energy field are the Norwegian subsea specialists Ocean Installer. The company’s advanced vessel, the Normand Vision, was used for work on subsea umbilicals, risers and flowlines (SURF) for major companies in the oil industry. Realizing that their subsea construction support equipment could also be used to work on the underwater cables that connect offshore wind platforms with the power grid, the Normand Vision began working with wind farms, including Germany’s Gode Wind 1 farm. Ocean Installer is not the only subsea construction company to jump on the renewable energy bandwagon. Singapore’s EMAS has also begun adding wind energy projects to their portfolio.
PMI shares the vision of these companies as our energy markets focus on new horizons and is excited to work with customers to solve their cable issues with budget friendly and top quality underwater cable hardware that will maintain cable integrity in every kind of underwater environment.
Read more about Ocean Installer and the Normand Vision.
To find out more about our custom ocean engineered cable hardware equipment, schedule an appointment to talk to our experts today.
As the world’s energy sources quickly shift towards renewables, wind farms are becoming a leading source of sustainable power. With many of these wind farms being located miles off shore, engineers depend on subsea cables to move power to and from the farms. When dealing with miles of cables, length, wear and tear, and improper usage all propose challenges. Those reasons, coupled with the sheer pressure from the vast amounts of water, many things are bound to go wrong during the offshore engineering process of wind farms.
The facts about subsea cables:
- According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, subsea cables have to withstand 14.5 psi per every 10.05 meters into the ocean they are lowered.
- Subsea cables are susceptible to accidental breakage by natural disasters, anchor damage, soil/erosion related damage, and damage from installation. Such mishaps snap cables about 100 times a year.
- There are no agreed upon international or national standards for installing subsea cables.
Why does do all these issues matter? Subsea cable damage can put an entire wind farm out of service for months and can lead to damage to turbine equipment. A study done by the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement on Offshore Electrical Cable Burial for Wind Farms estimates that 70% of insurance claims for offshore wind farms come from some kind of damage or breakage to the subsea cables.
As the industry grows, so do the risks associated with these wind farms failing. Europe and Asia lead in wind energy production globally – Denmark itself uses wind power for almost 40% of Danish domestic electricity. The United States continues to grow in the market as well, with the U.S. Department of Energy reporting that by 2030, wind power could supply 20% of all U.S. electricity. This rapid growth emphasizes the need for more dependable offshore engineering solutions.
PMI has years of experience in the offshore industries and continues to develop innovative hardware solutions for subsea cables. Let us help you tackle your offshore project needs.
Read more about studies done by the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement regarding Offshore Electrical Cable Burial for Wind Farms.
PMI Industries, Inc.’s location will be extremely beneficial for clients along the east coast in the next few years. As New York is mandating 50 percent renewable energy by 2030, offshore wind and renewable companies will find themselves very busy along the eastern shoreline.
One innovative way for these industries to save cost while they begin ramping up their energy solutions is to find ways to reduce shipping costs on their subsea equipment needs. They can do this by working with companies, like PMI, who are situated nearby and have years of experience in offshore cable management.
Meet with a PMI Engineering Expert who will help you tackle your offshore project needs today.
“The Governor has already shown his vision for a successful low-carbon energy economy in New York thorough the state’s path-breaking Reforming the Energy Vision initiative, and ACORE applauds his continued leadership with the proposed mandate for 50 percent renewables by 2030,” said Dan Reicher, Interim President and CEO of ACORE and Executive Director of the Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy & Finance at Stanford University. “With the adoption of this mandate, New York would join an elite group of states reaching for 50 percent clean, renewable power that cuts carbon emissions and grows the economy.”
Read more about New York’s Energy Mandate here.
Like the Internet of today, telegraph cables were the communication tool that made the Victorian world a little smaller.
Laid along the Atlantic Ocean floor in 1858, running from Ireland to Nova Scotia in Canada, it provided near-instant communication between two halves of the globe.
And it proved powerful when Dr. Hawley Crippen attempted to escape the law following the murder of his wife…
When laying and retrieving submarine cables on the seabed, or performing a cable pull from a vessel to an offshore wind platform, it is often necessary to hold a cable end onboard for up to seven days.
Cables must be anchored firmly onboard to keep them in place, and this anchoring is normally done by means of a cable stopper.
The cable left hanging in the ocean can be exposed to forces so strong there is a distinct possibility of becoming overtensioned. Meanwhile, the vessel’s crew works to keep station by the use of thrusters. If overwhelmed by winds, strong currents and waves, the ship can be driven out of position. The cable left hanging may end up acting as an anchor chain, subject to additional forces and tension.
In these situations, when the wrong cable hardware is used, or is installed incorrectly, the grip of cable tensioners can slip. The heavy cable starts moving unfastened, which is extremely dangerous for the crew, equipment and the vessel.
While the oil, gas and seismic industries have had plenty of experience with these issues, the growing offshore renewable energy companies are looking to manufacturers like PMI Industries for proven experience and products to guide the way.
Engineers who have made the leap from offshore oil to offshore renewable energy have worked with PMI’s products, such as our CABLE-GRIP™ and STOPPER-GRIP™ Terminations, and have found them preferable to typical braided cable grips or cable socks. These terminations are quick and easy to install, robust, and recommended by many cable deck crews.
Our unique cable grips are fully capable of holding cables to the rated breaking strength. Tensile load is transferred gradually from cable to termination with no stress or damage to the cable. And unlike braided stoppers, the helical termination wire design permits installation anywhere along the length of the subsea cable, since it does not require access to the cable end.
7 Questions You Should Be Asking About Your Subsea Terminations
Operators and suppliers in the offshore oil and gas industry face major challenges as the industry matures: increased production losses, technical issues with legacy equipment, evolving business models for maintenance and repair, supply chain constraints, rising delivery costs, and an inability to improve production.
Companies are even putting off recruiting apprentices because of the time and cost involved in what is perceived as a complex process. That why it’s good news to hear that Subsea UK has launched a new support service to help companies bring new talent into the subsea sector by making it easier to recruit apprentices. That’s one solution to the many the industry face.
And while Subsea UK is helping on the employment front, we’re focused on the other issues – constantly working on new to improve cost efficiencies. One way we are doing this is by innovating news systems on existing subsea cable devices and analyze cost saving opportunities.
Our in-depth hydrodynamic efficiency studies are helping companies by optimizing performance and overcoming hydrodynamic drag by over 40%.
Reduce some of your major challenges today:
Discover the benefits of Hydrodynamic Efficiency in this free whitepaper.
Learn about Subsea UK Recruitment Drive
A typical subsea cable repair equals several days for the ship to reach fault position. It’s 3-5 days once the ship is on site and even longer if bad weather is involved. And this doesn’t include projects that involve mobilization, delays and operational difficulties.
One splice alone can be 12-24 hours to repair and requires the ship to remain stationary with the cable suspended in water. All the while, cables and equipment are vulnerable to damage by other vessels and fishing gear. It’s a delicate feat that requires speed, precise navigation and station keeping in some of the most extreme ocean environments.
Cable handling requires specialized equipment for measuring, deployment and tension. The last thing anyone needs during this process is to be dealing with difficult equipment. Subsea cable hardware should provide secure, fast assembly and have the ability to be installed on cables with unlimited attachment possibilities.
If your subsea cable hardware is not working to increase performance, your operational costs are definitely on the rise.
Watch how your cable hardware should work for you:
Discover our innovative, tool-free hardware with common-sense solutions to anticipate your needs.
In September 1857, during a hurricane 160 miles off the coast of North Carolina, a copper-sheathed paddlewheel ship, the SS Central America, sank in the Atlantic Ocean. It was carrying so much gold on-board that her sinking contributed to the first global financial crisis.
Since April 2014, salvage experts have been retrieving its high-value cargo using the latest ROV and vessel technology.
There’s a lot of work that goes into salvaging shipwrecks. Large crews of scientists, archaeologists and technicians man a mothership that must maintain position in a footprint less than 50cm in extreme water conditions.
Far below the surface, where the pressure is enormous, they employ a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) highly customized for deep-sea shipwreck exploration.
ROVs are controlled from the ship via an umbilical cable. This massive cable contains small fibre-optic cables that carry control instructions to the ROV’s lights, manipulator arms and imagery from the HD cameras.
While the treasures to be uncovered are worth hundreds of millions, the cost to recover these riches is plenty high, too. It’s important that recovery teams use subsea cable equipment that offers security of their highly valuable ROV, bending strain relief and protection against equipment damage in extreme underwater environments.
Using high quality products on dives like this can ultimately make the difference between expensive equipment failure and a success filled with riches.
Read more about the SS Central America here.
Did you know that submarine cables are at most risk of damage during installation? Stresses placed upon the cable as it is installed can manifest and cause catastrophic failures to your system. The time it takes to repair such a cable can vary from weeks to many months and becomes a costly endeavor.
Using a test lab can assist you to identify potential problems prior to use by performing extensive laboratory testing.
Gaining insight to the interaction between the strength member and attached hardware or the complete cable assembly is especially valuable when you have so much at risk.
Want to read more about the importance of submarine cables? Check out this great article at Subsea Cables UK.
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