Three principal topics were requested:

1. To investigate and identify the causes of the damage to the two export cables with the remit reviewing through cable design, the manufacturing process, load out, trans-spooling and installation to discover and verify the root cause of the faults, how they developed through to FOC failures and to the structural over-loading and occurrence of ‘hot spots’ leading to potential power core failure.
2. To review the documentation related to the cable design, manufacturing, load out, trans-spooling and installation operations and to highlight significant issues observed therein.
3. To carry out such analysis, modelling, forensic cable dissection and component testing that were necessary to discover and identify the causes of the damage and to verify the engineering mechanisms at play.

The sum of these investigations revealed defects in cable design, manufacturing and handling, the consequences of those defects, the cables’ non-compliances with contract requirements, and steps and actions necessary to avoid the cables’ defects.