An oil leak detected at an electric cable connecting Morocco to Spain

A slight leak of biodegradable dielectric oil was detected last Thursday at the submarine reserve cable n ° 4 of the Morocco-Spain electrical interconnection (IME), common heritage of the National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE) and Red Electrica de España (REE).

This incident had no impact on the normal operation of the two interconnections 1 and 2 in service, and which provide the underwater electrical link between the Maghreb and European networks, said ONEE in a press release.

The cable that was the subject of the incident was an emergency cable which was out of service due to an incident caused by a heavy fishing tool which struck this cable, and following which a specialized company had already carried out the first phase of repair which consisted of plugging oil leaks and making a first junction at a depth of about 500 m, the same source said.

As soon as the incident occurred, ONEE and REE immediately mobilized, in an emergency, a specialized boat equipped with an ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) which was able to locate, this Monday, August 3, 2020, the oil leak in a depth of about 200 m at the level of a plugging head of the cable 4 carried out during the first phase of repair of this cable, we add. The steps are underway in perfect coordination between ONEE and REE to activate the final rehabilitation of this cable, the press release concludes.

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