Extended Operational and Trade Vocabulary

Marine Spatial Planning, Subsea Cables and Submarine Pipelines glossary (page 3)

The subsea-infrastructure vocabulary: named submarine cable systems (AAE-1), HVDC cable technology, abandonment-and-recovery and aboveground pipelay installation methods, cable burial and protection, and the marine spatial planning terms that allocate seabed use. Grounds each term in the cable or pipeline installation operation it belongs to.

613 defined terms.

Showing 113 on this page (page 3 of 3).

S

SpoolBase Mongstad: Subsea 7 spool base near Bergen, Norway, supplying rigid pipelines for North Sea projects.
Stalk: Long welded length of pipe used in S-lay double or quad joint operations.
Statpipe: 880 km Norwegian gas pipeline system from Statfjord and Gullfaks to Kårstø and onward to Emden, Germany.
Stinger: Curved overboard ramp on S-lay pipelay vessels.
Stop Drill Tooling: Subsea repair tooling for hot tap and stopple operations on pipelines under pressure.
Strain-Based Design (Pipeline): Pipeline design approach permitting controlled plastic strain, used in arctic and seismic settings.
Strait of Gibraltar Cable Crossing: Cable corridor between Iberia and Morocco hosting several submarine telecom cables and a power link.
Sub-Bottom Profiler: Acoustic survey instrument used in cable and pipeline route surveys to image sediment layers.
Subline Pipeline Heat Tracing: Electric heat-trace installed on flexible flowlines to maintain temperature above hydrate formation.
Submarine Cable Compendium: Industry publication catalogue maintained by analysts such as TeleGeography for active and planned cables.
Submarine Cable Resilience Initiative: Joint program of the IMO, ICPC, and UN agencies launched in 2024 to strengthen cable protection.
Submarine Cables and Pipelines Protection Act (NZ): New Zealand statute creating protection zones around designated submarine cables and pipelines.
Submarine Communications Cable: Cable carrying telecommunications signals across oceans, typically using optical fibers within an insulated core.
Submarine Power Cable: Cable carrying electrical power across water bodies, with HVAC, HVDC, or MVAC variants depending on application.
Subsea 7: Norwegian-British subsea construction company operating reel-lay and S-lay vessels including Seven Oceans and Seven Borealis.
Subsea Construction Vessel (SCV): Multi-purpose vessel combining heavy lift, ROV operations, and limited pipelay capability.
Sumitomo Electric: Japanese cable manufacturer producing submarine power cables and umbilicals.
Surf Zone Coverage: Engineering analysis identifying additional protection required where cables and pipelines cross the breaking-wave zone.
Surge Diverter: Surge protection device installed at cable landfalls to protect terrestrial equipment from lightning and switching transients.
SUVAG (Subsea Valve Group): Industry term for subsea isolation valve assemblies on pipelines.

T

Taiwan Strait Cable Cluster: Concentration of submarine cables crossing the Taiwan Strait, repeatedly damaged by fishing and anchor strikes.
Tampnet: North Sea offshore communications operator using subsea fiber to serve offshore oil and gas platforms.
TAP Pipeline (Trans Adriatic Pipeline): 878 km pipeline from Greece to Italy via Albania, with a 105 km offshore section across the Adriatic.
TAT-14: Older transatlantic telecommunications cable connecting the US, France, the Netherlands, the UK, Germany, and Denmark, in service from 2001 to 2020.
Team Telecom: US interagency body reviewing FCC cable landing applications for national security and law enforcement risk.
Telxius: Telefonica subsea cable operator with stakes in MAREA, BRUSA, and the Tannat cable.
Tension Leg Platform (TLP) Riser: Vertical rigid pipeline connecting subsea wellheads or pipelines to a TLP topside.
Tensioner Track: Continuous rubber track on a pipelay tensioner that grips the pipeline during installation.
TGN Atlantic: Transatlantic submarine cable system operated by Tata Communications, in service since 2001.
TGN Pacific: Trans-Pacific cable system operated by Tata Communications.
TGS-NOPEC: Geophysical company providing subsurface data used in pipeline routing in major basins.
Three-Layer Polyethylene Coating (3LPE): External corrosion coating widely used on submarine pipelines.
Tide Information for Pipelay (TIP): Marine planning data combining tide, current, and weather for pipelay station-keeping.
Tide-Adjusted Cable Plough: Cable plough configured to operate within tidal water-depth limits at landfalls.
Tie-In Spool: Short, custom-fabricated pipe spool connecting a pipeline end termination to a manifold or platform riser.
TKM (Tanker Loading Marker): Surface buoy indicating subsea pipelines or hose connections used in tanker loading at SPM systems.
TMS (Tether Management System): Component of work-class ROV systems used in cable and pipeline survey and intervention.
Tongariki Cable Landing: Pacific cable landing in Vanuatu serving regional connectivity projects.
Top Tensioned Riser: Vertical riser kept in tension by surface tensioners.
Topside Cable Pull-In: Operation lifting a submarine cable end from the seabed up through an OSP J-tube into the topside switchgear.
Touchdown Monitoring System (TDMS): ROV-based system that continuously monitors pipeline touchdown during S-lay installation.
TPC-5: Trans-Pacific Cable 5, an older fiber system connecting Japan and the US West Coast, retired in 2006.
Trans-Adriatic Cable Power Project (TACP): Proposed HVDC link between Italy and Albania, complementing TAP.
Trans-Mediterranean Pipeline (TransMed): 2,475 km natural gas pipeline from Algeria to Italy via Tunisia, with submarine sections across the Sicilian Channel.
TransJamaican Pipeline: Caribbean subsea pipeline studies and existing assets.
TrioSubsea: Subsea cable installation joint venture between trio of operators in northern Europe.
Troll Pipeline: System of gas pipelines from the Troll field to Kollsnes onshore processing plant in Norway.
Tropic 2: Submarine cable system connecting Curacao, Sint Maarten, and Tortola, operated by C&W Networks.
Trunkline Aggregation Pipeline: Subsea pipeline collecting hydrocarbons from multiple subsea fields and delivering to a central host.
Tunisia-Sicily Cable: Power and telecom cables across the Sicilian Channel, including the Elmed HVDC project.
Turtle Excluder Cable Trench: Cable trench profile shaped to avoid exposure where sea turtle nesting beaches lie above the landfall.
Tutuila Cable Landing: American Samoa landing site for Hawaiki and SAS cable systems.
Tyco Telecommunications: Predecessor name for what later became TE SubCom, then SubCom LLC, a major submarine cable supplier.
Tycom Atlantic: Older transatlantic submarine cable network from Tyco Submarine Systems.

U

U-Bolt Clamp: Bolted clamp used in pipeline tie-in spools to secure jumpers.
UK Marine Policy Statement: 2011 statement adopted under the Marine and Coastal Access Act setting MSP principles for UK waters.
Ultra-Deep Submarine Pipeline: Pipeline installed in water depths beyond 2,500 m, requiring J-lay or reel-lay vessels and high-strength linepipe.
Umbilical: Composite hose/cable bundle (electric, hydraulic, chemical, fiber).
UNCLOS Article 113: Provision requiring states to criminalize willful or negligent breaking of submarine cables and pipelines by persons under their jurisdiction.
UNCLOS Article 79: Provision granting coastal states the right to take reasonable measures concerning pipelines on their continental shelf, subject to other states' freedom to lay cables.
Underground Cable Junction Box: Onshore vault connecting submarine cables to terrestrial cables, including spare-fiber management.
Uniclad Pipe: Mechanically lined pipe with corrosion-resistant alloy liner used in sour-service subsea pipelines.
Universal Joint (Pipeline): Mechanical connector accommodating angular misalignment in subsea pipeline tie-ins.
Universal Pipeline Pig: Cleaning pig with adjustable disc configuration for varied pipeline diameters.
University of Aberdeen Subsea Centre: UK academic research center supporting subsea pipeline integrity and cable engineering education.
UnLCC (Unconverted Line Commutated Converter): HVDC converter type used in older submarine interconnectors.
UrbanCable Initiative: City-led cable resilience project examples relevant to nearshore MSP.
US Cable Landing License Act (1921): Federal statute requiring presidential authorization for landing foreign submarine cables on US shores.
US Maritime Spatial Plan Framework: National Ocean Policy and Regional Ocean Partnerships guiding US ocean planning, including subsea cable and pipeline siting.

V

Vasco da Gama Cable: 5,200 km submarine cable connecting Lisbon, Sopelana, and the UK along the European Atlantic coast.
VBMS (Visserij-Beheers Mariene Spatial): Dutch fishery management framework integrated with North Sea MSP.
Vesterålen Observatory Cable: LoVe ocean observatory cable off northern Norway, repeatedly damaged by fishing activity.
Viking Link: 1,400 MW HVDC submarine cable between Bicker Fen, England, and Revsing, Denmark, in service since 2023.
VLF Hi-Pot Test: Very low-frequency dielectric test method for installed submarine power cables.
VOC (Vortex-Induced Oscillation Control): Strakes or fairings installed on pipeline free spans and risers to suppress vortex-induced vibration.
VOMM Survey: Vessel-mounted multibeam survey campaign for cable and pipeline routes in deep water.
Vortex Induced Vibration (VIV): Cyclic riser/pipeline motion from cross-flow.
Vulnerability Assessment (Cable): Risk study quantifying exposure of a submarine cable to anchoring, fishing, and natural hazards.
VVS (Voluntary Vessel Speed Reduction Zone): NOAA program reducing whale strike risk that also indirectly affects cable lay vessel transit planning.

W

Walter Hammond Cable Vessel: Reference vessel in regional cable maintenance fleets.
Wassand Cable Landing: UK Yorkshire coast landfall complex for Hornsea export cables.
Wave Glider Survey: Autonomous surface vehicle used for long-duration metocean monitoring along cable and pipeline corridors.
Wave Loading Analysis: Engineering analysis of wave forces on pipelines, risers, and shore-end cable sections during storms.
West Africa Cable System (WACS): 14,500 km submarine cable along the west coast of Africa from South Africa to the UK, in service since 2012.
West Coast Marine Spatial Plan (Scotland): Regional MSP for the Argyll and Clyde area defining cable and pipeline corridors.
Wet Storage: Practice of storing partially installed submarine cables on the seabed between campaigns, anchored and marked.
Wet-Mate Connector: Underwater electrical connector that can be mated and demated subsea by ROV, used in cable and umbilical termination.
WindFloat Atlantic Cable: Inter-array and export cable for the WindFloat Atlantic floating wind project off Portugal, using dynamic cables.
Windsor Locks Cable Vessel: US-flagged cable installation vessel reference.
Wirelane (cable system): Internal placeholder name occasionally used in routing studies.
Wireline Pull-In Head: Termination on a cable or pipeline end used to attach the pull-in wire during landfall or J-tube pull-in.
Workington Cable Landing: UK landfall for the Western HVDC Link between Scotland and England.
World Cable Submarine Database (TeleGeography): Subscription database tracking submarine cable systems, routes, and capacities.
Worley Subsea: Engineering arm of Worley providing pipeline, riser, and SURF engineering services.

X

X-Force Pipelay: Internal project name occasionally used for high-capacity pipelay campaigns.
Xcel Cable Crossing: Reference to power cable crossing approvals in the US Midwest.
Xian Cable Manufacturer Reference: Chinese cable manufacturing facilities supplying domestic submarine power projects.
XLPE (Cross-Linked Polyethylene): Solid dielectric insulation widely used on AC and increasingly HVDC submarine power cables.
XLPE-HVDC Cable: HVDC submarine power cable insulated with cross-linked polyethylene, now standard on projects such as NordLink and North Sea Link.

Y

Yamal-Europe Pipeline: Onshore-dominant pipeline with offshore connections historically transmitting Russian gas westward.
Yangtze Estuary Cable Crossing: Crossing of multiple subsea cables at the Yangtze River mouth coordinated with shipping VTS.
Yellow Sea Cable Cluster: Concentration of submarine cables in the Yellow Sea between China and the Korean Peninsula.
YOCCMA (Yokohama Zone Cable Maintenance Agreement): Cable maintenance consortium operating dedicated repair cableships in the Northwest Pacific.
York Cable Landing: Reference UK East coast landing for North Sea export cables.
Young's Modulus Cable Testing: Mechanical test parameter for submarine cable design verification.
Yuzhno-Kamchatsk Cable Branch: Russian Far East branch of regional submarine cable infrastructure to Kamchatka.

Z

Zee-Pipeline (ZPT): Pipeline connecting the Norwegian Norpipe system with Zeebrugge.
Zeebrugge Pipeline Terminal: Onshore terminal in Belgium receiving subsea gas pipelines including Interconnector UK and ZPT.
Zinc Anode Bracelet: Sacrificial anode clamped around subsea pipelines for cathodic protection.
Zinc-Coated Steel Armor: Submarine cable armor wire treated with zinc to extend corrosion resistance.
Zone Management Plan (ZMP): Coastal zone planning instrument that constrains cable and pipeline routing in sensitive areas.
Zone of Reduced Resistance (ZRR): Region of soft or fluidized seabed sediment used to facilitate cable burial.
Zone of Restricted Anchoring: Spatial restriction declared in nautical charts and notices to mariners protecting subsea infrastructure.