2019 ICPC Plenary: History Made in San Diego, California

LYMINGTON, United Kingdom–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#2019ICPCPlenary–Under the theme ‘Critical Infrastructure across the Oceans—protecting
submarine cables and the marine environment,’ the International
Cable Protection Committee (ICPC) held its largest Plenary meeting
in the organisation’s history with a diverse submarine cables and
related industry audience of about 150 delegates from 14-16 May 2019 in
San Diego, California USA.

The annual ICPC Plenary was an excellent opportunity to engage with
submarine cable owners, suppliers, installers, surveyors, academics and
service providers regarding the planning, installation, operation,
protection and maintenance of submarine telecommunications and power
cables worldwide.

Day 1 included two presentations focused on offshore wind energy
and its interaction with other seabed users. Throughout the day,
presentations ranged from submarine cable security, repair times,
natural hazards, cable burial and growing concerns about deep seabed
mining with the potential to harm existing submarine cable networks.
Presentations covering the ongoing Biodiversity Beyond National
Jurisdiction (BBNJ) negotiations were followed by a lively question and
answer session. Day 2 covered topics such as armour wire
protection for submarine cables, distributed fibre sensing, marine
maintenance and submarine cable law. Day 3 included insightful
presentations discussing the protection of marine cultural heritage and
natural resources, enhancing network resilience and the coexistence of
offshore energy and submarine cables. Towards the end of day, the winner
of the ICPC-sponsored 2018 Rhodes Academy submarine cables writing
contest, presented: “Protection of Submarine Cables against Acts of
Terrorism.”

Newly elected ICPC Chairman, Malcom Eccles of Basslink reacted: ‘This
year’s Plenary was an outstanding event. The agenda was full of diverse
subject matter from distinguished invited speakers and experts from ICPC
Member organisations. I am very proud to be part of a group of
individuals who all want the same thing—the protection of submarine
cables worldwide from both man-made and natural hazards.”

The 2019 Plenary was also a place to recognise the outgoing ICPC Marine
Environmental Adviser, Professor Lionel Carter for his 16 years of
outstanding service to the submarine cable community. After a standing
ovation from the delegation, Lionel ‘passed the baton’ to newly
appointed Dr Michael Clare (National Oceanography Centre Southampton)
who took up the role on 1 June 2019. During the Plenary, Dr Clare also
presented: “New direct measurements of powerful seafloor hazards
provide insights for cable routing and design.”

If you were unable to attend the 2019 ICPC Plenary, please visit: https://www.iscpc.org/events/2019-plenary-meeting/
for its daily highlights. If interested in participating in next year’s
ICPC Plenary, to be held in Spain, be sure to submit an abstract in
response to the ICPC Plenary Call for Papers that will be issued later
this year.

About the ICPC: The International Cable Protection Committee was
formed in 1958 and its primary goal is to promote the safeguarding of
international submarine cables against man-made and natural hazards. The
organisation provides a forum for the exchange of technical, legal and
environmental information about submarine cables and, with over 180
Members from over 60 nations, including cable operators, owners,
manufacturers, industry service providers, as well as governments, it is
the world’s premier submarine cable organisation. For further
information about the ICPC visit: www.iscpc.org.
You may also find the ICPC on LinkedIn via the following: https://www.linkedin.com/company/icpc-ltd/.
If interested in joining the ICPC, please click on the following link.

As the voice of the submarine cable community, the ICPC welcomes genuine
enquiries regarding international submarine cables, environmental
factors affecting the submarine cable community and the activities of
the organisation. To the authorities and to seabed users, the ICPC
raises awareness of submarine cables as critical infrastructure carrying
more than 97% of intercontinental data and addresses the evolution of
international treaties and national legislation to help ensure that
submarine cables are protected.

Contacts

Keith Schofield
+44 7836 249376
general.manager@iscpc.org