GMS Completes Gulf of Guinea Cable Lay
Global Marine Systems Limited completed a fiber optic installation project in the Gulf of Guinea for Huawei Marine Networks (HMN), a Global Marine joint venture partner. Thiswill be the first installation of the R2 repeater following successful sea trials, which took place on Cable Innovator in November 2014.
The project, saw the installation of a 1,011 km repeatered fibre optic subsea cable system installed between Lagos in Nigeria and Kribi in Cameroon. It also encompassed a branching unit, for future connection, to Escravos and Qua Iboe in Nigeria’s southeast region.
Project activities included PLGR (post lay grapnel run) and route clearance, surface lay, cable burial, the supply and installation of pipeline crossing protection, PLIB (post lay inspection burial), and direct shore ends. Global Marine’s C.S. Sovereign, a multi-role DPS-2 vessel, capable of performing a diverse range of offshore engineering activities, undertook the project. Earlier this year, C.S. Sovereign successfully completed a platform-to-platform fibre optic system installation in the North Sea for oil & gas communications specialist Tampnet, complete with a Cable End Module (CEM) deployment.
A highlight of the project was the first deployment of HMN’s second-generation RPT 1660 R2 repeater. Which, provides an optical loop back facility for performance monitoring and accurate fault location. The upgraded product supports up to six fibre pairs and incorporates unique, 4x4 pump redundancy architecture. The new design, with its slim-line profile allows for simultaneous lay and burial of the product, increasing the efficiency of the installation process.