OMS Group’s CS Lodbrog has landed the NatituaSud cable at Toahotu Bay, French Polynesia.
In a LinkedIn post, the company said that it was assisted in the deployment by OPT subsidiary Onati’s personnel, and maritime works company Ti’aimoana’s vessels and boats.
Chairman and CEO of the post and telecommunications office (OPT) of French Polynesia, Jean-François Martin, was present at the landing event.
The process began at 5:00 am local time, and during this time the cable was held along the surface by red buoys, and all ships were required to remain at least 200m away from the cable. The cable was originally planned to be installed on April 17, but was delayed for unspecified reasons.
The NatituaSud cable connects the islands of French Polynesia, including Tahiti and the Tuamoto islands. In 2020 it was announced that the cable would be extended to connect to the Austral Islands. According to Agence Francaise De Developpement, the cable reached 2,600km prior to expansion to the Austral islands.
This latest landing is part of that extension, and works will now proceed to extend to Rurutu, where it was originally supposed to arrive on April 26, the northernmost island of French Polynesia and 572 km south of Tahiti. Works are expected to continue until May 20, 2023.
NatituaSud is a result of OMS Group’s partnership with OPT, Alcatel Submarine Networks, and Ti’aimoana.
Also in French Polynesia are the Honotua and Manatua cables. In February 2023, Onati announced that it was planning to increase the Honotua subsea cable’s capacity to 300Gbps. In September 2022, Hawaiki Nui confirmed that it was in talks with the OPT of French Polynesia looking at the possibility of extending its submarine cable to the area.
