A terrestrial cable dived deep into the seabed between two islands of the Zhoushan Islands, east China's Zhejiang Province, on Thursday.
The 10-kilovolt cable, which spans 1 kilometer, will serve as a substitute for submarine cables and help solve the problem of the submarine cables' frequent damage in the area after completion.
The Zhoushan Islands comprise 2,085 islands of varying sizes. Submarine cables have always been relied on as an important power supply for inter-island and intra-island connections.
The terrestrial cable that dived deep into the seabed is buried between two islands of the Zhoushan Islands, east China's Zhejiang Province, January 4, 2024. /CMG
The number of ships passing by in this area has increased due to the rapid development of maritime shipping and fishing. When a ship anchors, it can easily damage submarine cables. Factors such as climate and tides lead to difficulties in damage detection and vessel salvage, as well as economic losses.
Engineers at the State Grid Corporation of China used a shield machine to drill a 7-meter-deep and 1-meter-wide channel below the seabed and then buried the cable, connecting the two islands with it.
The burial is deep enough, eliminating the risk of anchoring incidents. Meanwhile, the cost of such cables is lower, making the construction cost only half that of submarine cables.
At the same time, a water pipe will be buried using this channel between the two islands to supply fresh water.