Ship survey confirms subsea interconnector was ruptured by an anchor

The electricity cable between Sicily and Malta was ruptured by a ship’s anchorthat was dragged along the seabed, a subsea survey has confirmed, Enemalta said.

The survey was carried out the Polar King, a specialised vessel, which identified the location of the damage on the interconnector.

The cable sustained fatal damage two days before Christmas with sources in Italy having told MaltaToday that the damage was very likely to have been caused by the Singapore-flagged oil tanker Di Matteo, which was sailing westwards along the southern Sicilian coast at the time of the incident.

“Initial indications reasonably confirm Enemalta’s suspicions to date. The footage of the survey conducted provides reasonable evidence that the cable was ruptured by an anchor, with evidence showing how the anchor was dragged, eventually dislodging the cable from the trench on the seabed, and subsequently breaking it,” Enemalta said in a statement on Monday evening.

Engineers from Enemalta and Nexans, the company that supplied the cable, will continue to analyse the footage to establish what actions need to be taken to initiate the repair process.

Enemalta said last week the survey would cost the company €1 million and only after the analysis was concluded could it have an idea how long the repairs would take and the expense involved.

The survey is also expected to provide evidence, which Enemalta could use in legal proceedings against the ship that caused the damage.

Malta is currently depending on its own energy generating sources at Delimara to provide electricity to the grid.

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