https://www.nrk.no/tromsogfinnmark/this-is-what-the-damaged-svalbard-cable-looked-like-when-it-came-up-from-the-depths-1.16895904 Hopp til innhold * * * * * * Nyheter * Sport * Kultur * Humor * Distrikt Mer Nyheter * Nyhetssenter * Norge * Urix * Debatten * Kultur * Livsstil * Viten * Dokumentar * Ytring * NRK Sapmi * NRK Kvensk Sport * Sportsnyheter * Livesport * Sendeplan Distrikt * Agder * Akershus * Buskerud * Finnmark * Innlandet * More og Romsdal * Nordland * Oslo * Rogaland * Telemark * Troms * Trondelag * Vestfold * Vestland * Ostfold Temasider * NRK Humor * NRK Mat * NRK Skole * NRKbeta Info * Hjelp * Informasjon * Karriere Logg pa [ ] Logg pa Troms og Finnmark * Tips oss! * Nyhetssenter * Vare sendinger * Podkaster This is what the damaged Svalbard cable looked like when it came up from the depths Exclusive photos show the damage in detail. They may explain what happened, but the question of guilt remains. Politiets bilde nummer 8. av viser trolig tydeligst skadepunktet. Her er det en glippe i stalarmeringen, og selve kabelen kommer til syne. Dermed er det kort veg til den stromforende delen av kabelen, som ledet til jordfeilen som oppsto. THIS IS THE PROBLEM: The police images show that the Svalbard fiber probably sustained crushing damage, says experts NRK has spoken to. A gap in the steel armoring exposed the cable itself. The weakened protection of the current bearing layer of the cable led to the ground fault that occurred. Foto: Politiet Send e-post til Journalist Havard Gulldahl Journalist [yH5BAEAAAA] Send e-post til Journalist Inghild Eriksen Journalist Publisert 26.05.2024, kl. 18.56 Oppdatert 27.05.2024, kl. 06.41 Publisert 26.05.2024, kl. 18.56 Oppdatert 27.05.2024, kl. 06.41 The outermost layer is peeled off. The reinforcement is broken. For the first time in public, NRK can reveal what the Svalbard cable looked like after it was damaged on the night of 7 January 2022. Norsk Les en norsk versjon av denne artikkelen her. Politiets bilde nummer 8. av viser trolig tydeligst skadepunktet. Her er det en glippe i stalarmeringen, og selve kabelen kommer til syne. Dermed er det kort veg til den stromforende delen av kabelen, som ledet til jordfeilen som oppsto. The tear enabled seawater to come into contact with a copper layer carrying electrical current in one of the two cables that together make up the Svalbard fiber. The current is used to amplify the fibre optic signals that flow through the 1300km long cables between the peninsula and the Norwegian mainland. Because of the breakage, the current went straight to ground, and the cable stopped working. It has not been previously established how the cable was damaged. Now, the photos might provide some clues. Initially, the police stated that they believed the damages were caused by human activity. Later on, the investigation was dropped, due to lack of evidence. The unique photos from the police investigation are now published for the first time. Bildet viser Svalbardkabelen og punktet der kabelen er skadet. Det ytterste laget er skadet, slik at stalarmeringen synes. Denne er spunnet rundt den stromforende fiberkabelen, og er brutt slik at det oppsto en jordfeil. After an inital investigation, the police dropped the case due to lack of evidence, and inadequate legislation. Foto: Politiet Several experts with extensive experience with submarine cables and installations have assessed the images for NRK. Their judgement is that the damage to the Svalbard fiber was due to the cables being crushed. One of them is a manager in one of the larger companies in Norway that owns and operates communication cables on the seabed. He does not want to be identified, out of concern for the safety of his company's seabed cables. <>. Over the years, he has seen a number of cable incidents. He says it is difficult to determine the exact cause of the damage based on photos alone, but notes that there are no signs of it having been hooked by a dragged anchor, for instance. Bildet viser hvordan den ytterste beskyttelsen pa Svalbardkabelen er skadet. The police images shed light on what happened to the Svalbard cable on the night of January 7, 2022. The outermost layer is a protective coating made of nylon yarn impregnated with tar. It appears to have been peeled off. Foto: Politiet <> Police prosecutor Ronny Jorgensen confirms that the police's technical report also identifies <> as a possible cause of the malfunction. The area where the cable was repaired last year. Heavy trawling in the area when the cable damage occured Periodically, there is significant trawling activity in the area where the cable was damaged. If a vessel happens to trawl across a section of the cable that is not sufficiently buried, it is conceivable that the trawl doors, which weigh several tons, could pinch the cable against rocks or hard seabed. The Svalbard fibre is buried deep into the bottom sediments, ideally up to two meters. However, if the seabed is too hard, it may lie much more shallow, potentially at risk from bottom trawl activity. NRK has previously reported how a Russian trawler crossed the Svalbard cable more than 140 times, and more than a dozen times before the damage occurred in January 2022. The shipowners have denied having anything to do with the damage. The police questioned the crew was questioned by the police, and used underwater drones to film the seabed in the surrounding area. A recording shared with NRK shows deep tracks on the seabed that might originate from a trawler door. Dette er politiets bilder fra havbunnen ved Svalbard, filmet med undervannsdrone, i omradet der skaden ble funnet. Bildet er hentet fra dokumentarserien <>. Police images from the seabed near Svalbard, filmed with an underwater drone, show the area where the damage occurred. The image is taken from the documentary series "Putins Shadow War." Foto: Politiet The vulnerability of seabed cables The critically important cable that connects Svalbard to the mainland is no thicker than a pinkie finger. A steel wire reinforcement is spun around it for protection. The outermost layer is a nylon yarn inserted with tar. Cable damages occur many times each year, across the globe. This fiber link is one of many subsea cables worldwide that are crucial in their role to connect the world, but at the same time highly vulnerable. Where it might be possible to re-route traffic to another cable in well-connected parts of the underwater world, the incident outside in the remote Arctic peninsula revealed the fragility of the cable. It is critical for Svalbard's communication with the mainland, and a particularly important part of the Norwegian space infrastructure. The cable is also critical for Norway's international obligations, according to the Office of the Auditor General. Fiberkabel Svalbard The subsea cable surfaces just outside Longyearbyen on Svalbard. Foto: Jannicke Mikkelsen / NRK The damage to this cable is also one of the first well known incident in recent years where experts are drawing a possible connection to Russian hybrid warfare at sea. Compared to other cable damages Since that January night in February 2022, several other cable incidents have received significant international attention. On October 8, 2023, both a communication cable and a gas pipeline running between Finland and Estonia were torn off. Balticonnector: Finske myndigheter undersoker fortsatt skaden pa gassrorledningen Balticconnector og estiske myndigheter skaden pa de estisk-finske og estisk-svenske kommunikasjonskablene. Finnish authorities are still investigating the damage to the Balticconnector gas pipeline, while Estonian authorities are examining the damage to the Estonian-Finnish and Estonian-Swedish communication cables. They have concluded that the damage was caused by an anchor. Foto: Estonian Internal Security Service The cable break was investigated by Estonian authorities. They have concluded that the cable was torn off by a dragging anchor. <> writes state attorney Triinu Olev in a statement to Estonian ERR and NRK. He writes that a joint Estonian and Finnish investigation has been investigating whether the damage was an accident or an intentional act. NewNew Polar Bear is currently in China. The same vessel has also been linked to similar cable breaks between Estonia and Sweden, and between the Russian cities of St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad. <> he writes. Many damages to cables also occur without it becoming known to the general public. NRK has been in contact with several people involved with laying or repairing sea cables, in order to understand how the damage might occur. An owner of a large cable company, who does not want attention that can identify the damage or damage sites, says that fishing is the biggest cause of their cable problems. Her har en tral sannsynligvis dratt med seg kabel og forarsaket skade pa det ytre laget, armering og det indre roret der selve fibrene ligger. This is another instance of cable damage, occurring in 2017 and involving a Norwegian company. Experts consulted by NRK suggest that it is likely a trawl dragged the cable, causing damage to the outer layer, the armoring, and the inner tube where the actual fibers are located. <> the technical director writes to NRK. Roughly speaking, the external damage to cables can be divided into three categories, explains Alaisdair Wilkie, chairman of the ACMA. The first is the influence of an external third party, such as anchors, trawls et cetera. The second category is natural impact, such as an earthquake, volcanic eruption or a tsunami. The third is wear and tear, or failure of the equipment itself. Dette bildet viser hvordan en tilsvarende kabel typisk er bygget opp. Fibrene ligger inne i et ror i midten av kabel, og sa er det armering rundt. This image shows how such cables are constructed. The fibers are housed inside a tube in the center of the cable, which is then surrounded by armoring. <>, writes Wilkie in an e-mail to NRK. Most often, it is hard to tell if cables have been damaged by intention. An example to the contrary is from 2021, when a research cable outside Vesteralen bore clear signs of being cut. Kabelen baerer preg av a vaere kuttet etter at den er revet los, sier Troms politidistrikt. Kabelbrudd ved Lofoten-Vesteralen havobservatorium (LoVe). The police has stated that this cable appears to have been cut, after it had been hooked. The marks on the cable resemble that of an angle grinder. Foto: Troms politidistrikt A 40 hour long operation Jens Olav Frorud is a consultant at Space Norway, the company that owns and operates the fiber connection. He will not speculate on how the damage to the Svalbard fiber occurred. However, Frorud will speak about how they found and repaired the damaged cable in June of last year. Jens Olav Frorud, Space Norway under reparasjon av Svalbardfiberen juni 2023. Jens Olav Frorud, aboard the "Cable Vigilance," was one of the first to closely inspect the damage. Foto: Dave/ASN He was on board the <> during the month-long and complicated cruise that retrieved the cable from the depths, and repaired it in an extensive operation. After 40 hours they had found the damage. There was no doubt, says Frorud. How so? <> Fiberkabel Svalbard The subsea cable surfaces just outside Longyearbyen on Svalbard. Foto: Jannicke Mikkelsen / NRK Executive Director Rune Jensen of Space Norway says the damage to the Svalbard cable shows how vulnerable fiber connections on the seabed are. <> Bildet viser kabelen om bord pa "Cable Vigilance" for reparasjon. The cable is hauled aboard for repair. Two shifts totaling fifty individuals worked day and night to replace the damaged section. They also brought along remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs) and equipment for splicing the fiber. Foto: Jens Olav Frorud, Space Norway Should something similar happen again, Space Norway has now joined ASN, an organization that gives rapid access to cable repair ships, crew and equipment. <> says Jensen. Additional reporting by Anna Pihl from Estonian National Broadcasting Company. 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