The Scottish Government’s Reaching 100% (R100) Project

OceanIQ’s sister company Global Marine, recently installed 16 new telecommunications cables on behalf of BT to extend superfast broadband (30 Megabits per second (Mbps) +) coverage across three geographical areas of Scotland; Orkney, the Shetland Islands and the Inner Hebrides. These new inter-island cable connections formed part of the Scottish Government’s ‘Reaching 100%’ (R100) programme contracted to BT & OpenReach. Global Marine Group (GMG) were contracted to supply and install the subsea cable system, with OceanIQ managing the permitting and route survey process.

Initially, OceanIQ were contracted to conduct a Desktop Study (DTS) for the 16 proposed routes. This study not only determined preliminary routing but also the complex permitting and regulatory requirements for the entire project.

Following the DTS, OceanIQ managed all the Permits in Principle (PiPs) associated with the 16-cable project as well as the operational permits associated with the multiple installation vessels used. This began with the consultation phase where OceanIQ successfully managed and delivered the Pre-Application Consultation (PAC) event. The purpose of the PAC is to allow local communities, environmental groups and all other interested parties the opportunity to comment upon the proposed installation at an early stage. Understanding local concerns and taking on board local views is key to a successful project approval process. This was followed by 16 Marine Licence applications which involved overseeing the environmental appraisals and completing the supporting documentation whilst coordinating all licence submissions, to ensure permits were acquired without delay prior to scheduled operations commencing.

The team also applied for and secured several other supporting, but essential, permits including Zetland Works Licences, Orkney Harbour Works Licences, Marine EPS Licences, Basking Shark Licences, Otter EPS Licences, Planning Permission and multiple Crossing Agreements.

Keeping the project timelines on track

Licence approvals took from six weeks for some of the supporting permits, up to around 8 months for the Marine Licences. Despite the lengthy turnaround times, all permits were obtained through continual engagement and communication with the relevant authorities, within the necessary windows, to avoid any costly project delays.

Following the permits being granted, OceanIQ provided post-application support services, where conditions were efficiently actioned, and any further requested documentation, such as method statements and mitigations plans, were produced in timely manner.

Alongside the permit process, OceanIQ also managed the Fishing Liaison scope throughout the entire project. This was a critical activity ensuring that the project was successfully delivered with a cooperative relationship with fisheries stakeholders.

Critical project activities managed seamlessly

Over 12 months, OceanIQ conducted more than 50 consultation meetings with the licensing authorities, key stakeholders, third party asset owners and fisheries organisations, in addition to delivering the Pre-Application Consultation event. During this time OceanIQ also managed a total of 61 permit application submissions including 16 Marine Licences, 16 Marine EPS Licences, 16 Basking Shark Licences, 5 Zetland Works Licences, 4 Harbour Works Licences, Planning Permissions and 1 Otter EPS Licence.