Case

Emergency subsea cable repair supported with rental tensioner

Project summary

A global offshore contractor and subsea services provider completed an emergency offshore wind cable repair using a rental 15-tonne breakback tensioner from Royal IHC. The tensioner was mobilised at short notice and integrated into the cable repair spread without delay, while on-site operator support helped maintain steady operations within a compressed schedule.

The challenge: emergency offshore cable repair under time pressure

A critical 220 kV export cable failure took more than a third of a major UK offshore wind farm offline, requiring urgent repair. The offshore contractor had 31 days to complete the entire engineering phase and mobilise their cable repair vessel.

Success depended on immediate mobilisation of cable handling equipment to minimise wind farm downtime. A tensioner central to the cable repair spread to support both recovery of the damaged section and installation of the new cable length in an area known for strong subsea currents.

When sourcing a tensioner, the requirements were:

Ready to deploy immediately
Simple integration with the cable repair spread
On-site operators to reduce the risk of delays

Close up of a red and white two-track cable tensioner in a factory setting.

Red and white two-track cable tensioner demonstrating full breakback functionality in a factory setting.

The solution: rental tensioner with operational support

The offshore contractor approached Royal IHC to supply a 15‑tonne breakback tracked tensioner under a short-term rental agreement.

Configuration and mobilisation were confirmed in early discussions to ensure the tensioner could be integrated onto the vessel quickly. Royal IHC operators were deployed offshore to support installation and daily operations throughout the campaign.

Multi-stage cable handling operations

The tensioner was used across three key project stages:

Loading the new cable onboard in Velsen, The Netherlands
Recovering the damaged cable off the coast of Peterhead, Scotland
Installing the new cable section

The sea surrounding the offshore wind farm is characterised by strong currents, making the tensioner’s bi-directional constant tension control critical to preventing excessive strain on the new cable section.

The tensioner’s breakback functionality enabled flexible handling during loading and unloading phases, including the safe passage of larger products such as the cable protection system.

On-site support: Royal IHC experienced operators

As part of the rental scope, Royal IHC operators supported the on-site installation and operation throughout the cable repair campaign, helping minimise downtime risk and removing the need for additional crew training for a short-term project.

Four workers wearing hard hats and orange overalls onboard a vessel, working with the red and white cable tensioner. Cloudy sky in the background.

We’ve heard good feedback about the Royal IHC team. Your guys have been helpful and happy to muck in with other troubleshooting on HPUs, cutters and other equipment, which is always great to hear back from our offshore teams.
Project Manager - Global offshore contractor (client)

The outcome: cable repair completed within the critical window

The new section of export cable was installed and successfully reconnected to the grid, restoring the wind farm’s operations.

The rental tensioner enabled:

Rapid deployment of proven cable handling equipment
Seamless integration into the offshore contractor’s cable repair spread
Continuous on-site operational support to minimise downtime risk
A cost-efficient solution for a short-term, time-critical project

The combined approach of short-term rental, rapid mobilisation, and full operator support enabled the offshore contractor to execute the urgent cable repair efficiently while reducing operational and schedule risk.