APAC firm ASEAN Cableship has announced the addition of a new cable ship to its fleet, the ASEAN Challenger.
Announced in a LinkedIn post, the new ship has been designed for optical fiber submarine cable repairs and offers broadband satellite service and specialized equipment for cable recovery, testing, and jointing.
The ASEAN Challenger is set to join the three other cable ships in the SEAIOCMA (South East Asia India Ocean Cable Maintenance Agreement) zone.
The SEAIOCMA zone covers the ocean area from Djibouti to Guam, and from Taiwan to Australia, with cableships being based at strategic ports within the region.
Didier Dillar, CEO at Orange Marine, added in a LinkedIn post, that the vessel is equipped with Orange Marine’s Alpha ROV (remotely operated vehicle). The Alpha ROV has a power capacity of 450kW and can jet-bury cables up to three meters deep.
Headquartered in Singapore, ASEAN Cableship Pte was set up by a consortium of telcos across Southeast Asia in 1986. The company now installs, maintains, and repairs subsea cables across the Asia Pacific region. Its current fleet includes the ASEAN Explorer, the ASEAN Restorer, and the ASEAN Protector.
Despite there being more than 400 subsea cables in operation or development, there are only around 60 cable ships in the world designed to lay and maintain them. The cable ship capacity crunch is seeing many projects delayed, and some re-routed. However, several new vessels have entered service in the last 18 months.
