Rough weather to delay Shefa-2 subsea cable repairs at least a day
Broadband will not be restored until Sunday evening at the earliest, as repair teams for the damaged Shefa-2 cable expect to be delayed by rough weather from Friday.
Repair vessel Cable Vigilance is still expected to arrive in Orkney early tomorrow (Thursday) but a rougher forecast for the following two days has shifted plans backwards, according to Shefa’s managing director Páll Højgaard Vesturbú.
“As we approach the weekend, the weather outlook suggests that conditions may be more suitable for the main repair work on Sunday rather than Saturday,” Mr Vesturbú said on Wednesday morning.
“If operations proceed as now planned and weather allows, full traffic restoration is expected by Sunday evening or Monday morning.”
NorthLink have also issued an early warning that weather may disrupt sailings from Friday through the weekend.
Friday marks three weeks since Shefa-2 was first damaged by rough weather during Storm Amy.
The resulting broadband outages caused disruption for people across the Northern Isles, many of whom said they changed providers to those less affected.
Repairs, meanwhile, have been made especially time-consuming by the closeness of the damage to Orkney’s shore.
“Because the damage is close to shore, certain preparations must be made locally before the repair vessel can begin offshore work,” said Mr Vesturbú earlier last week.
The incident marks the second time the Shefa 2 cable has been damaged this year.
In July, a mainland scallop dredger snagged the cable between Orkney and mainland, likely while fishing “dark” without its AIS tracker on. That disruption lasted almost two weeks.