According to press reports, the Italian-flagged vessel, owned and operated by Italian company GAS S.r.l, completed the first and most difficult stage of mapping the seabed between Greece and Cyprus for the routing of the EuroAsia InterConnector, which is being designed to help solve the energy isolation of Cyprus.

During the past month, the Odin Finder mapped a route from Vassiliko in Cyprus to Crete and from there to the Peloponnese and then on to mainland Greece close to the port of Piraeus, a total distance of more than 500 kilometres. The work was on schedule, the press said. Mapping out the best route for the cable is expected to be completed within this year. The entire cable will reportedly cover around 1,500 km of which the portion between Cyprus and Israel is estimated to be roughly 320km in length.

The ship is equipped to carry out various operations, including bathymetry, survey, geotechnical and ROV surveys.

The cable will have the capacity to transmit 2,000 MW of energy along its east-west cable, selling Israel Energy Corporation’s excess electricity production to Cyprus or any other buyer further west. The subsea cable will connect Israel and Cyprus to southeast and western Europe to satisfy the continent’s need for cheap electricity.

It will connect Israel with Cyprus, Cyprus with Crete, and Crete with the Peloponnese, from where electricity supply can be distributed to Greece or further afield.

Actual work on the initial 329-kilometre cable link between Israel and Cyprus is expected to begin in 2017 and be completed in 2019.

The project is initiated by the DEI-Quantum Energy joint venture, a partnership between DEI, the public power corporation of Greece, and Quantum, operator of hydroelectric and power stations in the Republic of Serbia. The cost is estimated at €1.5bn and the cable’s expected lifespan is estimated at 50 years. Once fully completed, the cable will allow for bi-directional transmission of electricity.

Source: Cyprus Mail