Cable maintenance agreement extended
Published: 21 July, 2021
Global Marine, a leading provider of subsea fibre optic cable installation and maintenance solutions to the telecommunications sector, and part of the Global Marine Group, has announced it has been awarded a contract extension of SEAIOCMA (South East Asia and Indian Ocean Cable Maintenance Agreement) for another five years, running until 31st December 2025.
Global Marine has been providing maintenance services continuously to SEAIOCMA since its inception in 1986. During that time, Global Marine has completed more than 600 repairs, and the fibre network included within the zone has expanded from 34,000 kilometres of cable maintained to today, where it encompasses more than 120,000 kilometres.
The SEAIOCMA zone agreement, a co-operative club managed by 45 cable owners, provides the repair of submarine cables that carry international telecommunications traffic. SEAIOCMA spans the area between Djibouti in the west, Perth in the south, Guam in the east and the northern tip of Taiwan.
A depot constructed in 2019 by Global Marine located in Subic Bay, Philippines, provides a strategic base for Global Marine’s cable maintenance vessel, Cable Retriever, which serves the zone year-round. The depot is ideally situated to facilitate rapid response times for vessel mobilisation within 24 hours of call-out, with spare cable and other essential kit on hand to complete system repairs.
The extension of the SEAIOCMA agreement, renewed on 1st January 2021, demonstrates the continued customer recognition of Global Marine’s reliability in support of long-term contracts, as well as its ability to deliver leading subsea maintenance to customers globally.
“There is no greater endorsement of success than a contract extension from an existing customer,” said Bruce Neilson-Watts, managing director of Global Marine. “We are delighted that SEAIOCMA has again placed confidence in our capabilities to deliver a high standard of operational repairs.
Over our long and successful history together, Global Marine has established an impressive track record as a trusted, reliable partner with SEAIOCMA. This is primarily due to our resilient, flexible approach to fibre optic cable system maintenance and repairs, as well as our innovative subsea engineering solutions that deliver results against technical challenges, ensuring minimal disruption to operations.”
Joshua Ang Joon Ping, chairman of SEAIOCMA said: “I am extremely pleased that it has been possible to agree terms and conditions with Global Marine, ensuring the SEAIOCMA region will continue to receive a high level of maintenance cover. This is particularly key given the ongoing global pandemic, and the increasing dependence placed on the subsea telecommunications network to enable digital connectivity.”
Cable retriever at sea
