FEATURE
THE ROLE OF REGULATION IN RECOVERING DECOMMISSIONED SUBSEA CABLES
BY ANJALI SUGADEV, ISABELLE CHERRY, MICHAEL BRAND AND MICHELLE ELSA GEORGE
A
cable system is typically installed with a 25-year design life. However, the actual operational lifespan varies in practice (before it is deemed out-of-service and no longer used for transferring data). Although there has been much focus on the regulations that make the process of laying and operating cables difficult, there has been much less focus on the regulations that affect what happens to cables after they are decommissioned. As a result, there are several unanswered questions when it comes to the jurisprudence on cable recovery operations. In this article, we cover some of the international norms that govern out-of-service cables, alongside a few national regulations that affect them. There are many factors cable owners must consider before deciding whether or not it is viable and worth recovering a cable. Submarine Cables: The Handbook of Law and Policy identifies a recommended checklist that helps cable owners to determine when a cable should be classified as out-ofservice (OOS).1 On this list there are several criteria - the
1
Burnett, D. R., Beckman, R., & Davenport, T. M. (Eds.). (24 Oct. 2013). Submarine Cables. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill | Nijhoff. https://doi. org/10.1163/9789004260337 (the Handbook).
cable must have reached the end of its designed life span (about 20-25 years); the cost of operating and maintaining the cable outweighs profits; the cable increases liability of the original company in terms of sacrificed gear and anchor claims; and, finally, new cable technology may make current cables effectively obsolete.2 Additionally, as Khalid, Mateen, Duckett, and Nunn observe, “cable owners should consider the costs associated with not recovering the cable and keeping it in place”.3 It is important to note that this checklist and expert suggestions are not international regulations but merely recommendations to help the creation of national legislation for decommissioning cables.
INTERNATIONAL REGIME ON OUT-OF-SERVICE CABLES
In the territorial sea, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) grants coastal States sovereignty which may include the right to regulate the removal of out-of-service cables.4 2
. Burnett, “The Legal Status of Out-of-Service Submarine Cables” (2004) 137 D Maritime Studies 22–27.
3 Reja Khalid Mateen, Daniel Duckett, Andrew Nunn, “Proactive Removal of Legacy Subsea Cables: Why an owner should recover?” 2023 SubOptic Conference paper, Bangkok. 4
Article 21(c), UNCLOS.
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