0403-154Mep-ok 5/02/07 9:25 Page 6

Invited Paper
OFFSHORE REPAIR
OF THE IFA 2000 CROSS-CHANNEL
LINK
Xavier BOURGEAT * – RTE ( Gestionnaire du Réseau de Transport et d’Electricité)

Carried out under difficult mete- In the twenty years of operation of

orological conditions, the operation
to repair the damage sustained by the
IFA 2000 Cross-Channel link showed
the efficiency of the means mobilised
by RTE, in coordination with NGT**.
Seventeen years after the construc-
tion of the interconnection, the
“embedding” and “disembedding”
machine, the repair cable and logistic
means were made operational in
fewer than fifteen days.
The interconnection
between France and
the United Kingdom
1961: IFA 160, the first inter-
connection between France
and the United Kingdom
the interconnection, the IFA 160 avail-
ability was less than 50%.
IFA 2000: the second
generation submarine
interconnection
In 1981, joint France – United King-
dom studies lead to the decision to
build a DC interconnection with a
largely higher capacity, embedded over
the entire length of the route between
the two landing points, at a depth pro-
tecting it from any mechanical hazards.
The present IFA 2000, the 2000 MW
France–United Kingdom interconnec-
tion connects the French coast (San-
gatte) to the English coast (Folkestone)
since 1986, the date the Cross-Channel
link was put into operation.

In 1982, IFA 160 was removed and,

* xavier.bourgeat@rte-france.com
** National Grid Transco : TSO for
England and Wales
In 1961, France and the United
Kingdom were interconnected for the
first time by a Cross-Channel power
link. Known as IFA 160, the160 MW
direct current submarine interconnec-
tion between France and the United
Kingdom was an outstanding achieve-
ment at the time. However, as the sub-
marine cables were simply laid on the
sea bed, the considerable development
of trawling in the English Channel and
the North Sea led to service interrup-
tions due to frequent damage caused
by anchors.
at the same time, work on the con-
struction of IFA 2000 got under way.
The route, chosen at a more eastwardly
location than that of the IFA 160 link, is
in an area where the unconsolidated
sea bed lent itself more easily to cable
burial.
The two converter stations located
at Bonningues-lès-Calais in France and
at Sellindge in England, are respectively
6.5 km and 17 km from the landing
points.

6 E L E C T R A N°213 - Avril 2004

0403-154Mep-ok 5/02/07 9:25 Page 7
The four routes of the
IFA 2000 link
Figure 1: Overview of the submarine part of the IFA 2000 link.
The lengths of the submarine routes are
between 43 km for route 4 and 46 km
for route 1. The nominal depth of cable
embedding is 1.5 metres. On the main
route, the routes are spaced one kilo-
metre apart to limit common modes
in the event of a hazard.
Each submarine route between San-
gatte and Folkestone corresponds to a
pair of cables which was laid either by
France, or by the United Kingdom.
According to the terms of the agree-
ment binding both countries, each
party owns the submarine routes that
it has laid, from the landing point of
Sangatte up to that of Folkestone. In
addition, each party is responsible for
its routes, in other words, it sees to any
necessary repairs, with the cooperation
of the other party if need be.
The technological choices for the
submarine and land cables, as well as
for the laying modes, proved fully sat-
isfactory since commissioning of the
interconnection in 1986. The technolo-
gies used are based on the mass
impregnated technique with protective
armature featuring high peripheral
mechanical strength.
IFA 2000: early man-
agement of repair
means
In view of the experience acquired
with the IFA 160 link, the operators
devoted their thoughts to the future
availability of the interconnection, well
before its commercial operation: even
if the likelihood of cable damage was
considered to be extremely low during
the design studies, the repair solutions
were nevertheless worked out at an
early stage. It was decided to provide
for and maintain specific means of trou-
bleshooting for the IFA 2000 intercon-
nection, capable of stepping in at short
notice and shared between France and
the United Kingdom.
Today, the cable maintenance and
repair contracts are entered into
between RTE, the French transmission
system operator, and NGT, National
Grid Transco, the English transmission
system operator, on the one hand, and
between the Offshore works company
for the maritime operations and the
cable manufacturer for the cable con-
nection operations on the other hand.
These contracts call for the use of an
adapted vessel, the nature of
I nvited P aper
INVITED PAPERS
ELECTRA is the journal
of CIGRE Members.
Nevertheless, a number of
columns under the section
‘ Invited Papers ’ are now
open to all contributors.
This we hope will enhance
exchanges between
all players in the area
of electrical power.
If in your country you have
information about signifi-
cant events or innovation in
the area of electricity,
please share this with us.
Your contribution
(2 500 words maximum)
should be sent directly to
the Central Office or to your
National Committee.
It will then be forwarded to
the Editing Committee.
We rely on your collabora-
tion, for which we thank you
in advance.
No. 213 - April 2004 E L E C T R A 7
0403-154Mep-ok 5/02/07 9:25 Page 8
C O N T I N U E D
Invited Paper
which will depend on where the dam-
age is located, in other words, on the
water depth at this spot. The proce-
dures distinguish faults in coastal nav-
igation areas from those at sea. Tak-
ing into account the regulatory
requirements of submarine interven-
tions, the sometimes difficult climatic
conditions in the North Sea, as well as
the extensive range between high and
low tides along with strong currents,
may confine diving operations to about
four times one hour per 24 hours.
In order to improve the means of
intervention under the sea, the embed-
ding and disembedding machines used
for cable laying were replaced by more
flexible equipment specifically
designed to carry out repair operations,
named MED1 for Embedding and Dis-
embedding Machine number 1
(Machine à ensouiller et désensouiller
numéro 1), fully remotely-guided from
the surface of the support repair craft.
Figure 2: Lowering into the sea of MED1 during repair operations in the spring of 2003. Note the plas-
tic caterpillar tracks and the racket, in raised position, which receives the cable electromagnetic location
system. This machine weighs about twenty tonnes in the air.
In 1990, a full-scale test was con-
ducted so as to check the ability of the
human and equipment resources to
effectively carry out a repair at sea. The
8 E L E C T R A N°213 - Avril 2004
results of this test were extremely sat-
isfactory and showed that the repair
could be performed under the condi-
tions stipulated in the contracts.
At the same time, the French and
English operators make sure that the
necessary replacement equipment is
available if required. In all, 32 km of
cable, identical to the cables laid, are
stored in Dunkirk, ready for use at any
time to replace portions of the IFA
2000 Cross-Channel link in the event
of damage.
The damage of March
2003
At 6.12 p.m. on 6 March 2003, the
first bipole of the interconnection
tripped due to the lack of direct volt-
age. At that time, the link was
deprived of a transit capacity of
500 MW.
Upon occurrence of the fault, RTE,
in coordination with its English coun-
terpart NGT, immediately undertook
investigations to determine the cause
0403-154Mep-ok 5/02/07 9:25 Page 9
of the tripping. The teams that were
mobilised carefully analysed the
recordings available. RTE technicians,
in collaboration with those of NGT,
were able to pinpoint the fault on
cable 11 of route 4, the most southerly
one of the interconnection (see figure
1). The locating process rapidly ruled
out the French and English under-
ground parts. The fault was confirmed
in the submarine part of cable 11,
owned by RTE.
Fast mobilisation of a
project team and
equipment
RTE immediately set up a project
structure under the responsibility of
the local operating group so as to
effectively conduct the cable repair
operations. This structure involved
not only the regional operators, but
also the insulated cable specialists of
RTE’s Centre National d’Expertise
Réseaux (National Grid Engineering
Centre), fault locating experts, while
also associating the English opera-
tors. The maritime operator and
cable manufacturer were equally
informed.
In fewer than fifteen days, RTE
brought together a team of 60 peo-
ple, all the replacement equipment
and the necessary means of technical
intervention.
Fault localisation
Echometry is the technique used
to locate the fault. The length of the
Cross-Channel link and the high
capacitance per cable length, which
causes high transmission losses for
high frequency pulses, made these
operations difficult. What’s more, the
English underground cable between
Folkestone and Sellindge, which
extends the submarine link to the
C O N T I N U E D
I nvited P aper
land, is of a type differing from the
submarine cable. The two propaga-
tion speeds and the impossibility of
disconnecting these cables featuring
different technologies, made fault
localisation a more difficult task. The
calibration of the speed on the sec-
ond cable of the pair, was able to
provide suitable indications, only
after interpretations, since it
includes a 17 km section of oil-filled
underground cable in addition to
43 km of mass impregnated subma-
rine cable.
Even if we managed to calibrate
the propagation speeds as well as
possible, there still remained uncer-
tainties as to the exact location of the
fault, and the propagation speed on
a similar replacement cable stored in
Dunkirk was measured to improve the
method.
All these parameters showed that INVITED PAPERS
the fault was located at about 39 km
from Sangatte. Using this information ELECTRA is the journal
as a basis, the data concerning the lay- of CIGRE Members.
ing and embedding in 1984 and 1985 Nevertheless, a number of
were analysed and showed that the columns under the section
arrival at Folkestone was particularly ‘ Invited Papers ’ are now
difficult, the sea bed at this point being open to all contributors.
made up of highly irregular zones (loose This we hope will enhance
exchanges between
areas alternating with very hard areas)
all players in the area
making embedding extremely difficult.
of electrical power.
An artificial embankment was therefore
built so as to protect the cable in some If in your country you have
points where it had not been buried information about signifi-
deeply enough. cant events or innovation in
the area of electricity,
please share this with us.
Off-shore repair oper- Your contribution
ations (2 500 words maximum)
should be sent directly to
Preparations the Central Office or to your
National Committee.
It will then be forwarded to
The preparatory stage made it pos-
the Editing Committee.
sible to find the vessel best suited to
the operations: the non-motorised We rely on your collabora-
barge, which requires a tug and a spe- tion, for which we thank you
cially-equipped support craft to place in advance.
the anchors.
No. 213 - April 2004 E L E C T R A 9
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C O N T I N U E D
Invited Paper

Figure 3: View of the barge during the operations at sea. One can see the arm of the crane in down posi-
tion. The cable drum is at the rear with the gantry crane and winding arm. The prefabricated shelters in
the rear house a workshop and the MED1 control station.

A dielectric strength test of the Many dielectric strength tests were

replacement cable, by applying 280 kV carried out up to the beginning of May
for 1 hour, was successfully performed 2003 with the participation of the
prior to its loading. English operators.
Casting off took place in the
evening of 11 April 2003 for a cross- Cable re-embedding and
ing that was to last about ten hours. service restoration

The repair phase: cutting The “jetting” technique (i.e. the

the defective cable section, spraying of water under high pressure
analysing the fault and mak- from the MED1) made it possible to re-
ing the junctions embed the cable without difficulty for
straight line. However, re-embedding
The first operation consisted in at the level of the cable loops was a
accurately locating the cable. To do more delicate task. In some areas
so, a signal was injected into the where the required embedding condi-
cable at Sangatte. The MED1, fitted tions might not be correctly fulfilled,
with a device enabling it to detect RTE reinforced cable protection by lay-
this signal and to accurately deter- ing “protection mattresses”. These
mine its route with respect to the mattresses are blocks of cast concrete
cable position, was launched in the bound together by a mesh made of
vicinity of the fault. synthetic material.
Divers then went into action at a
depth of 20 metres to sever the defec-
tive portion of the cable. A first end of
the severed cable was brought up from
the sea bed onto the barge, aboard
which the first junction with the replace-
ment cable was performed. The second
end of the severed cable was then
brought up onto the barge in order to
make the second junction. The repaired
cable was then laid back on the sea
bed. A repair loop thus replaced the
Figure 4: Protection mattress. In all, 11 mat-
defective section and reconnected the tresses of this type were laid so as to protect
submarine cable. the cable against external hazards.

10 E L E C T R A N°213 - Avril 2004

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C O N T I N U E D

Service restoration on 28 May
2003 brought the IFA 2000 inter-
connection back to its nominal
capacity of 2000 MW. During the
repair period, almost 40% of the
time was spent in the shelter of the
port of Dover, due to unfavourable
weather conditions.
I nvited P aper
2003. As the sea bed was intact at
the place of the fault, this ruled out
the occurrence of a recent exter-
nal hazard. Furthermore, the mar-
itime authorities made no mention
of any vessel having sustained dam-
age in the area at the beginning of
March 2003.

Fault inspection
The expert examination of the
fault was carried out on 11 June

INVITED PAPERS

ELECTRA is the journal

of CIGRE Members.
Nevertheless, a number of
Figure 5: Aspect of the fault. The cable armature is in the form of a bird cage, and oil seeps through the columns under the section
hole which traverses all of the insulation, the lead and the polyethylene sheath. ‘ Invited Papers ’ are now
open to all contributors.
This we hope will enhance
The progressive inspection of the In addition, the cable showed many exchanges between
cable, layer by layer, immediately honeycomb-like areas. Although these all players in the area
showed that the cable was slightly marks are usual on this type of cable, of electrical power.
twisted. At the paper level, this resulted the density is abnormally high here and
in many layers being torn, and in “elec- seems to express particular mechanical If in your country you have
tric wear” with traces of carbonisation. stresses. information about signifi-
cant events or innovation in
the area of electricity,
please share this with us.
Your contribution
(2 500 words maximum)
should be sent directly to
the Central Office or to your
National Committee.
It will then be forwarded to
the Editing Committee.

We rely on your collabora-

tion, for which we thank you
in advance.
Figure 6: Torn paper and traces of carbonisation between the edges. Honeycombs are also to be seen.

No. 213 - April 2004 E L E C T R A 11

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C O N T I N U E D
Invited Paper
A twist is to be noted at the cable
core, well visible by means of the fab-
rication indentations.
Figure 7: Core twist. This twist was, in fact, general at the fault position since the lead was also twisted, as
well as the polyethylene sheath. It should be noted the sheath regained its rectilinear shape after the lead
had been removed.
It therefore appears that the fault
was due to mechanical causes. The twist
probably dates back to the laying or
embedding phase, caused either by the
moving of the laying vessel, or by a shift
of the embedding machines. An in-plant
defect or a fault during the winding
phase is normally to be ruled out,
because the deformation observed on
the cable armature would have been
noticed during these operations or dur-
ing the passage by the port holes of the
laying vessel. The twist led to the tear-
ing of several paper layers and slow elec-
trical wear resulted in cable dielectric
breakdown after 17 years of operation.
The inspection of the neighbouring
parts showed the perfectly sound con-
dition of the insulation and armatures,
making it possible to envisage the
operation of the Cross-Channel link in
the long term with a good degree of
confidence.
A successful repair and
trained teams
This event underlined the reactivity
of the TSOs as RTE, in close co-opera-
tion with its English counterpart, imme-
diately dealt with this damage and
implemented all necessary means to
repair the interconnection.
12 E L E C T R A N°213 - Avril 2004
This exceptional operation brought
together all of the repair resources
elaborated 17 years ago and continu-
ously improved since. Despite the dif-
ficult weather conditions which slowed
down the repair actions, the preventive
measures provided for showed that
they were up to the task. The reactive
capability of the teams that had been
set up was outstanding.
The repair operation was the occa-
sion for the teams involved to get a
real hands-on approach in a situation
of this kind.
As a result of this work and experi-
ence, RTE is continuing its efforts to
improve the conditions of localisation and
the knowledge of propagation speeds.
Over and above the mechanical
fault that was located, the detailed anal-
yses made on the portions of the cable
brought up from the sea bed showed
that there was no ageing of the insu-
lation system and armatures after
nearly two decades of service.
The experience acquired in carry-
ing out this action in co-operation with
NGT allows us to envisage the
restored operation of the intercon-
nection between France and the
United Kingdom with a great deal of
confidence. ■