Subsea cable plough

Subsea cable ploughs are specialist equipment used to lay and bury subsea power cables. They dig and cut through seabed sediments to create pathways for the cables and are built to withstand high levels of abrasion and impact. Design and complexity varies depending on seabed conditions.

Description of Manufacturing Process
Generally steel billets machined into complex shape such as brackets or hydraulic components. Pulleys, rollers and pins can be turned out of steel or plastic. High-hardness steel or tungsten carbide blocks are milled and ground to precise cutting profiles with tight tolerances for cutting edges. Components are welded together to form the cable plough.

Description of Supply Chain
Most components are custom-fabricated by suppliers before assembly by the cable plough provider. The latter will typically look for cost-competitive suppliers which can meet the required specifications. Trusted suppliers are often included in the design process.

Scottish Opportunity
Relevance to Scottish Supply Chain: Medium

There are several installation equipment specialists operating in the UK, such as Rotech, Seaway 7 and SMD. They often appoint local manufacturers for the fabrication of the tools, which themselves could be interested in subcontracting machining to a Scotland-based CNC expert. The demand is however relatively low as the tools can be reused on many wind farms.