wiredInUSA May 2018

Latest vessel nears completion

Algerian links

Houda-Imane Faraoun, Algeria’s minister of post, telecommunications, technology and digital, said that Algeria’s existing international submarine cables “will be reinforced, before the end of the year, by two new lines,” linking the country to Spain and the USA. The cables, the Alger-Oran-Valencia (Orval) andAnnaba-USA, have been driven by increased demand from the growing number of subscribers and Internet users in the country. “The Internet almost did not exist here while, today, Algeria has 3,166,000 subscribers, meaning 44 percent of citizens have fixed telephony,” continued Faraoun. “All the wilayas (provinces) in the country are covered, despite the grey areas, and more than 34,639,000mobile lines exist in Algeria.” The growing numbers rely on the country’s 81,000km of optical fiber, “built by Algerian companies since its creation in 2002,” added Faraoun. Ms Faraoun announced plans for the new subsea cable system four months ago, when she also said the new cable would terminate at the Algerian city of Annaba, alongside Sea-Me-We 4, which links Algeria to Marseille. Image: ITU Pictures from Geneva, Switzerland (Wikipedia)

DEME Group’s latest cable lay vessel, Living Stone , has arrived in Vlissingen, the Netherlands, to undergo its final outfitting before completion. The vessel is expected to be completed in June 2018, after which it will head to its first cable laying assignment at Hornsea Project One in the UK. While in Vlissingen, the Living Stone will be equipped with a dual-lane cable installation system with a total capacity of 10,000 tonnes. The system can install one cable while fully preparing a second one on deck, minimising the time needed for cable preparation. The system requires fewer joints when installing cables, so reducing the risk of cable damage, increasing the vessel’s workability and improving production rates. Ordered in 2015 fromthe Spanish shipbuilder La Naval, the Living Stone was initially scheduled to be delivered in the second quarter of 2017. The vessel was eventually moved from the La Naval shipyard in Bilbao to Santurtzi, from where it was transported to Vlissingen. DEME Group’s latest cable lay vessel, Living Stone, has arrived in Vlissingen, Netherlands. Photograph courtesy of DEME

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wiredInUSA - May 2018