A delegation of senior IMCA representatives briefed Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and senior representatives from the European Commission at a lunchtime briefing on the marine contracting sector’s essential role in securing critical offshore infrastructure.
The event, hosted by Walter Beke MEP at the end of June, continued IMCA’s ongoing work to inform elected representatives and civil servants of the offshore contracting sector’s critical role as a strategic enabler of Europe’s energy and climate ambitions.
The interest among EU audiences was strong, with 13 MEPs in attendance from the European Parliament’s Security, Energy, and Transport Committees, and from the Seas, Rivers, Islands & Coastal Areas (SEArica) intergroup. They were joined by two senior officials from the European Commission, and two representatives from EU member states, testament to the growing importance of this topic.
Submarine communication cables carry 99% of inter-continental internet traffic, while submarine electricity cables are key to energy security, connecting electricity markets and bringing offshore renewable energy to shore.
However, Mr Beke welcomed guests to the briefing, held under the title ‘securing critical offshore and underwater infrastructures’, by outlining the growing threat to this marine infrastructure from malicious actors.
Highlighting the European Commission’s Joint Communication to strengthen the security and resilience of submarine cables, which sets out the EU’s four-stage counter sabotage response – prevention, detection, response and recovery, and deterrence – Mr Beke said Europe “must respond with unity, coordination and resolve” to defend its strategic interests.
In his welcome address, IMCA President Luca Gentili, from the global contractor Saipem, outlined the essential role of Europe’s marine contractors in delivering a “safe, more sustainable energy mix”, and pledged that IMCA “through its technical work, and as an advisor to regulators and governments” stood ready to “contribute to the security of Europe”.
The meeting then heard two presentations, from IMCA CEO Iain Grainger on protecting undersea infrastructure, and from IMCA Director of Strategy and Energy Transition Lee Billingham, who outlined the findings of IMCA’s recent Economic Impact Assessment, authored by PA Consulting.
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They were supported with insight from IMCA Vice-President Hugo Bouvy from DEME Offshore, Michel Hendriks from IMCA Board member Heerema, Jack Wattel from IMCA Board member N-Sea, and by IMCA Head of Communications Patrick Clift.
Iain outlined the scale of Europe’s undersea infrastructure, which includes 1,200 active oil and gas facilities, 20,000km of oil and gas pipelines, and over 10,000km of cables. The EU’s target to generate 300GW of offshore renewable energy by 2050 could necessitate the construction of an additional 20,000 wind turbines, dramatically increasing the amount of infrastructure that could be targeted by saboteurs.
The owners of telecoms cables have mature strategies in place to manage repairs – including through cooperative agreements such as ACMA, a non-profit cooperative subsea maintenance agreement of nearly 60 members that has three repair vessels on permanent standby in North America, the Caribbean, the North Sea, and West Africa, and MECMA, a similar body covering the Mediterranean region.
However, power cables are much more challenging to repair at speed, Iain said, given the absence of such ‘repair clubs’, and the additional complexity of fixing them.
Iain highlighted that Europe’s offshore sector had 61 vessels capable of laying and repairing cables, more than any other country or region in the world. To enable the fleet to invest and play its part in protecting undersea infrastructure, he highlighted:
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the need for EU policy reforms that would enable faster, smarter repairs,
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for public-private cooperation between European institutions and the marine contracting sector, and
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for new measures to encourage investment in people and skills.
Presenting the results of IMCA’s Economic Impact Assessment, Lee Billingham outlined that the European marine contracting industry was a world leading, highly specialised fleet of vessels that are critical to meeting Europe’s clean energy ambitions. Using the example of Dogger Bank A in the North Sea, he illustrated that it required 49 individual vessels, each including specialised workers and equipment, to install a single 1.2GW wind farm.
Citing data from Clarksons, he said that Europe’s fleet comprises around 3,490 vessels, 26% of the 13,372 vessels in the global fleet, and twice the percentage of the next largest regional block, China, which has 13% of the total.
As well as enabling the development of all offshore energy infrastructure, including carbon capture and storage, he revealed that the European marine contracting sector is expected to provide over 490,000 skilled jobs and contribute over €80bn in economic value this year, including indirect effects, in the EU, Norway, and the UK, as well as €15bn in taxes. Its wider contribution includes driving investment in port infrastructure, supporting European energy security, and facilitating international data exchange.
IMCA finished the meeting by delivering a call for EU institutions to:
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recognise the marine contracting sector’s essential and strategic role in delivering the Europe’s energy and security goals,
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provide a fine-tuned and clear pathway for decarbonisation, and
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ensure that Europe’s ports are fit for the energy transition.
Discover IMCA’s Economic Impact Assessment here: IMCA’s recent Economic Impact Assessment
Offshore sector contribution
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