TAT-14. The name Evoque’s memories of the transformation of intercontinental networks changing for the better. It reminds us of the birth of the “non-consortium submarine cable systems”. The lights have now been dimmed.
TAT-14 was the 14th consortium transatlantic telecommunications cable system. In operation from 2001 to 2020, it used wavelength division multiplexing. The cable system was built from multiple pairs of fiber. The TAT-14 transatlantic cable system was connecting the United States to the United Kingdom, France, The Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark. After two rounds of capacity upgrades, it provided a variety of interfaces including all relevant SDH protocols from STM-1 (155,52Mb/s) up to STM-256 (40Gb/s).
Subsea Environmental Services and Red Penguin Associates (advisors) have been awarded the contract to decommission the TAT-14 telecommunications cable system. The Project Scope includes removal and recycling of shore-ends in the US, UK, France, Denmark and The Netherlands.
The Planning Phase of the Project has been underway for almost a year beginning with a comprehensive desktop Decommissioning Study and has addressed the interests of multiple Stakeholders with regard to permitting, environmental impact, GIS / database analysis, review of as-builts, crossings and proximity considerations of third-party assets across various international boundaries and jurisdictions.
The Operations Phase commenced last week with the planned recovery of shore-ends in Denmark and The Netherlands. Completion of all in-shore works is anticipated by year-end 2021. As recovery of these segments progresses over the upcoming months, real-time oversight will be critical to ensure prompt risk identification, analysis and implementation of any necessary mitigation while keeping operations to a tight project schedule.
John Theodoracopulos, (Subsea MD) commented: ‘the scope of this project presents an exciting opportunity for all Stakeholders to participate in the notable benefits associated with the decommissioning of TAT-14. Red Penguin have been an excellent partner and we look forward to continuing to work closely together.