The Icelandic Coast Guard has twice in recent days had to warn fishing vessels off operating around undersea cables.
The Coast Guard has seen fit to contact a couple of fishing vessels working close to the undersea communications cables that connect Iceland with the rest of the world, reminding ship’s officers that caution needs to be shown in the vicinity of these cables and that legislation states that fishing with demersal gear, either fixed or towed on the bottom, is prohibited along a band a quarter of a nautical mile wide either side of such cables.
The Coast Guard has issued a reminder that undersea communications cables perform a vital role in maintaining Iceland’s links with the rest of the world, and that the costs involved in repairing cables are extremely high – and this cost is expected to be reclaimed entirely from whoever causes it. A further reminder is that these cables also carry high tensions and handling them can be extremely hazardous.
Information on the positions and status of undersea links can be found on the Farice and Mila websites.
