wiredinUSA September 2015

INDEX

Preform progress

Optic Marine Services Group (OMS) has launched a new submarine cable installation barge, Cable Orchestra. The $15 million shore-end cable laying barge has beencustombuilt for cable installation in water depths of up to 40m. OMS chief executive officer Ronnie Lim Hai Liang explained that Cable Orchestra will be capable of installing as much as 5km of cable per day, depending on seabed conditions. “It has the capacity to carry 700 tonnes of cables, that equates to about 200km,” he added. In September, Cable Orchestra will start work on a segment of the 20,000km SEA-ME-WE 5 submarine cable system, expected to last about 8 months. Lim said that OMS plans to venture into deeper waters, to depths of 50m to 3,000m, when it acquires its next cable ship in 2017. New ship in good shape

Optical fiber preform, optical fiber and optical cable account, respectively, for 70 percent, 20 percent and 10 percent of the total profit of the optical fiber industry chain. A global and China optical fiber preform industry report, 2014-2017, shows preform capacity amounted to 13,000 tons in 2014, mainly in the US, Japan and China. China ranked first with a share of 39.8 percent. Amajor producer of optical fiber preform, China is also a large consumer, demanding 6,639 tons in 2014, 60.9 percent of global demand. The figure is expected to increase to 7,144 tons in 2015. Prior to 2010, due to technical limitations, over 70 percent of China's demand for optical fiber preform was imported. In recent years, as domestic companies have enhanced their capability for independent research and development, China's optical fiber preform production capacity has continued to expand. The self-sufficiency rate in optical fiber preform rose from 20 percent in 2007 to 64.4 percent in 2014. It is expected to reach 72.6 percent in 2015.

ASIA / AFRICA NEWS

wiredInUSA - September 2015

31