Ship and offshore cables: laying and handling

Laying temperature and pre-warming

No value from a standard was found: use the maker's datasheet.

• A cable stored below its minimum laying temperature takes no shocks, impacts, bending or twisting.Sources: HD 620 Part 1 A.3.1; HD 603 3-I 3.3; Nexans Belgium 2022 (read in the standard text)

Laying in winter? Pro checks your town and month against this limit. See Pro

Bending radius

• IEC 60092-352 Table 4: Cables up to 1.8/3 kV, smallest inside radius while installing, D the overall diameter: unarmoured and unbraided 4 D up to 25 mm (6 D where circuit integrity is required), 6 D above; braided, wire or tape armoured or metal sheathed 6 D; laminate tape screened 8 D; sector shaped conductors 8 D; mineral insulated 6 D. A larger radius from the maker applies.Sources: IEC 60092-352 3.18, Table 4, p. 20 (read in the standard text)
• IEC 60092-352 Table 4A: Cables of 3.6/6 (7.2) kV and above: single core 12 D, three core 9 D.Sources: IEC 60092-352 3.18, Table 4A, p. 20 (read in the standard text)

Pulling force and method

Not found in the research for this family.

Depth, cover and laying

Not found in the research for this family.

Drum handling

• Keep the drum upright, its axis horizontal, in storage and in transport; never lay it flat on a flange.Sources: HD 620 Part 1 A.3.2.5, A.3.3.2; IS 1255 7.7, p. 25; Prysmian 2024; Reka (read in the standard text)
• Never drop a drum. Without lifting gear, use a ramp of about 1:4 (IS 1255: 1:3 to 1:4) with ropes or a winch and a sand bed at the foot.Sources: HD 620 Part 1 A.3.3.3; HD 603 3-I 3.3; IS 1255 7.3, p. 24; Prysmian 2024 p. 6; Reka p. 6; Nexans 2021 p. 4 (read in the standard text)
• Roll it only short distances on firm ground, in the direction of the arrow on the flange.Sources: HD 620 Part 1 A.3.3.4; HD 603 3-I, 3-L; IS 1255 7.4, p. 24; Prysmian 2024 p. 7; Nexans 2021 p. 3 (read in the standard text)
• Store it on level, firm, well-drained ground and turn it 90° every 3 months.Sources: IS 1255 7.5, 7.6, pp. 24 to 25; Prysmian 2024 p. 8, 9; Nexans 2021 p. 8, 9; Prysmian Türkiye 3.3 (read in the standard text)
• Leave the battens on until the cable is about to be laid: they keep off sun and knocks.Sources: HD 620 Part 1 A.3.2.5; BS 6622 D.5.2; IS 1255 7.8, p. 25; Nexans 2021 p. 11 (read in the standard text)
• Cable ends sealed with caps in transport, storage and laying. A cap missing for over a month, or a wet end: cut back 300 mm, check for moisture and cap again.Sources: HD 620 Part 1 A.3.2.3, A.4.7; HD 603 3-I 3.2; BS 6622 C.3; BS 5467 B.4; BS 7846 A.7.4; IS 1255 7.2, p. 24; Nexans 2021 p. 7; Draka (read in the standard text)
• Pay out tangentially, never over the flange, with the drum on an axle and jacks and braked. Top or bottom: IS 1255 says off the top; Southwire chooses by where the cable goes (the bottom into a floor conduit, the top into a tray); Nexans Belgium says the bottom, for safety.Sources: HD 620 Part 1 A.4.5; IS 1255 8.2, 8.3, 10.2; Southwire 2005 p. 2 to 3; Nexans Belgium FAQ; Prysmian 2024 p. 10; Draka p. 5, 9 (read in the standard text)

Every rule for a chosen drum, with its lagging, weight and return terms: Cable drum calculator

Sheath test after laying

No sheath test after laying was found for this family.

The tests after installation for one cable, with their voltages, in the cable designer: Test after installation