PART 3: From Reaction to Prevention - Cable Integrity That Works in Reality

In offshore wind, subsea cable failures are often framed as operational problems – something that happens years into service, offshore, under harsh conditions. The evidence tells a different story.

A significant proportion of cable damage is introduced long before the first kilowatt is ever generated – during design, manufacture and installation. By the time a cable is energised, much of its long-term behaviour has already been set in motion.

The challenge is not simply that early damage occurs. It is that early damage often goes unseen. The operators who recognise this early are the ones who avoid surprise later.

We’ve pulled together this blog, the third and final one in our cable damage mini-series, to highlight what actually works through practical integrity strategy and service-led engineering; all reducing surprise and downtime in real operations. 

Early Decisions Shape Long-Term Reality

Industry data consistently shows that installation damage alone accounts for a substantial amount of all subsea cable failures. When manufacturing and early design issues are included, the majority of failures trace back to the pre-operation phase.

Cables rarely fail purely because of what happens years into operation.They fail because of what happens during design, configuration, manufacture and installation under real offshore conditions.

That pattern is not new. In flexible riser systems, fatigue problems were rarely random. They were typically linked to early assumptions about loads, configuration and interface behaviour that later proved optimistic once real metocean and operational behaviour were observed.

Why Early-Life Damage Is So Hard to See

One of the most challenging aspects of early cable damage is its visibility.

Over-bending at touchdown zones, poorly controlled lead-ins to structures, and installation loads that exceed what was assumed in design.

These issues do not always cause immediate failure. Instead, they embed fatigue and strain that only surface later on, often under otherwise normal operating conditions.

Flexible risers taught the industry this lesson the hard way. In many cases, fatigue exceedance was often only discovered once field data became available, long after installation – forcing expensive reassessment, modification or replacement.

Offshore wind cables are now following a similar path.

Snapshot Integrity Leaves Blind Spots

Traditional cable integrity strategies rely heavily on periodic inspection. These surveys are valuable, but they offer snapshots in time rather than continuous understanding.

If damage occurs during installation or early burial, and no meaningful as-laid visibility exists, that damage can remain hidden for months or years.

When it finally appears, the result is familiar:

• Unexpected trips

• Complex fault finding

• Extended outages

• Repairs measured in weeks rather than days

This is exactly how early-life riser fatigue problems surfaced in the past. The damage was never sudden, it was already there – it just had not been visible.

The Practical Lesson From Riser Integrity

Subsea engineering eventually learned that treating flexible risers as static components was a mistake. They are dynamic systems, sensitive to configuration, interfaces and real operating loads.

Once that mindset shifted, integrity management moved upstream – from reaction to prevention.

• Stronger front-end engineering decisions

• Better installation discipline and control

• Early data capture to inform long-term behaviour

• Continuous interpretation rather than periodic observation

This was not a technology shift, but a strategy shift. Offshore wind cables are now reaching the same point.

What Actually Works in Practice

Reducing failure risk is not about eliminating uncertainty entirely — complex offshore systems will always contain unknowns. What works in practice is reducing surprise through disciplined, evidence-led integrity management.

The most effective operators apply a service-led approach combining engineering, data and decision-making:

Engineering discipline early

Designing for real loads, real interfaces and real offshore behaviour — not idealised assumptions.

Installation awareness

Controlling handling, configuration and loading during deployment, where many future issues originate.

Early-life visibility

Capturing meaningful data from installation onwards to understand how assets are actually behaving.

Continuous interpretation

Turning measurements into insight, and insight into timely, proportionate action.

In other words, integrity is not a point-in-time activity – it is an ongoing decision framework.

The Advantage Offshore Wid Can Still Capture

If there is one upstream advantage offshore wind projects can still unlock, it is this:

• Apply proven subsea integrity thinking from day one

• Treat cables as dynamic, high-value assets during design and installation – not as passive components to be inspected later

Most failures originate early, while most costs arrive much later, which means cables should be viewed as critical dynamic assets during design and installation, not as commodities to be inspected later.

The gap between those two realities is where downtime and financial loss accumulate.

Before First Power Matters Most

By the time the first kilowatt is generated, much of a cable’s future has already been decided. The real question is whether the industry chooses to manage that reality upfront, or continues to discover it later through outages, claims and unexpected intervention.

Subsea engineering has already travelled this road with flexible risers. The lesson was clear: visibility, discipline and service-led integrity reduce uncertainty long before failure occurs.

Offshore wind cables are not fundamentally different – they simply present the next opportunity for the industry to apply what already works.

Turning Insight Into Fewer Surprises

In complex offshore systems, failure is rarely caused by a single dramatic event. More often, it is the result of small, early deviations that go unseen until the consequences are expensive, disruptive and unavoidable.

The operators who outperform are not those who promise zero risk, they are the ones who understand their assets deeply enough to act before uncertainty becomes failure.

At The Impulse Group, this is where we work best. By combining engineering discipline, real-world offshore experience and continuous integrity insight, we help operators move from periodic observation to confident understanding – from reacting late to deciding early.

The real value of integrity is not in inspection, sensors or reports – it is in the clarity they create and the decisions they enable.

If your objective is fewer surprises, smarter intervention and greater confidence across the life of your assets, we are ready to support your team.

Visit www.theimpulsegroup.com to explore how we help operators turn engineering insight into practical, risk-reducing decisions.