The owners of a subsea electric cable have collected a $5.9 million insurance payout due to the poor installation of the wiring.

Nova Scotia Power (NSP) Maritime Link had disclosed to provincial regulators in a recent report that it had collected $5,939,000 for the faulty installation.

The energy company had made a claim in 2017 following the botched installation of one of the two 170-kilometre cables that ran along the seafloor of the Cabot Strait. According to NSP Maritime Link, about 1.2 kilometres of one of the cables had to be replaced after an inspection post-installation found that the cable did not settle on the seabed as planned.

NSP Maritime Link – a subsidiary of energy corporation Emera – explained that the substandard installation created an acute bend “that went beyond the manufacturer’s engineering installation specification for the cable and required replacement of that section.”

CBC News reported that the cost was covered by insurance, but who was responsible was not disclosed.

A spokesperson for Emera said that information on the insurance claim will be filed with provincial regulators as part of NSP Maritime Link’s final capital costing.