Early ice in Northumberland Strait causes early departure of cable-laying ship

Early ice in the Northumberland Strait is forcing the early departure of the giant cable-laying ship, the Isaac Newton, and will mean a delayin completing the installation of two new underwater electric cables.

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"They moved back into Charlottetown on Sunday to assess the situation and then were thinking if the weather looked better they'd go back," said Maritime Electric spokesperson Kim Griffin.

"But they've just decided this morning that they're going to begin the process of demobilizing and preparing to return back to Belgium."

Threeto four moreweeks needed

The giant ship arrived on P.E.I. in October to install Maritime Electric's two new electrical cables that will carry electricity under the strait between P.E.I. and New Brunswick.

The new cables were supposed to be operating by theend of 2016, according to Maritime Electric's plan.

"It's unfortunate news, it's certainly a challenge for us but we just have to go back to the drawing board and look at some of the options in terms of getting this work done," said Griffin.

The land portion of the construction project has gone smoothly, says Griffin, with the work about 90 per cent complete.

But the marine portion is now several weeks behind because of delays due to weather and equipment something that is to be expected in a project of this size, Griffin added.

"We were hoping we'd get a little bit more time in the strait but Mother Nature hasn't agreed with us."

Cable still needs to be buried

In November, the construction team completed the "cable pull-in" that occurs on both the P.E.I. and NewBrunswicksides of the project.

The Isaac Newton floated the length of cable needed to connect to land, as numerous support vessels helped to hold the cable in place, until it was time to begin the pull-in procedure.Then, a winch on shore pulled the cable in.

The project team was meeting Tuesday to look at other options for completing the work, including the potential return of the Isaac Newton after the ice is gone.

They will also have to go back to federal and provincial regulators for new permits because the work was supposed to be complete at the end of the year.

The additional work will not mean any additional costs, says Griffin, because theywill be covered under the original contract for installing the cables.

'Largest project ever'

Meanwhile, Maritime Electric will continue to get the cables ready for operation.

"We're still able to complete our testing and our commissioning in January as we planned, we're just looking now at whether or not energization will happen in January," said Griffin.

She added there would be no disruption to customers as the other cables are still fully functional. The existing cables will remain in operation for up to another decade, and there will be a long decommissioning process when they reach the end of their use.

The federal government has committed nearly $70 million, or about half of the total project cost, with the provincial portion around $74 million.

The two existing power cables connecting the Island to the mainland are nearly 40 years old. The new cables will allow Maritime Electric to import up to 360 megawatts of electricity, bolstering the 200 megawatt cables.

Griffin has called the installation of the two underwater cables the "largest project ever" in the company's history.

The cables will be owned by the province and leased to Maritime Electric.

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