Carried out during the Covid-19 pandemic, the work was completed despite stringent procedures and restrictions affecting permit regulations, logistics and employee health and safety.
“We have a long and successful partnership with E-marine, providing repair and maintenance services for our cables in the Middle East and the Indian Ocean. Our priority, as in all repairs, is to return the cable to customer traffic as quickly as possible while ensuring the safety of all personnel at both E-marine and GCX,” said Brad Kneller, GCX’s head of submarine operations.
“The pandemic presented significant additional challenges in this respect, which both teams worked through successfully to complete the repair of our FALCON cable system. GCX continues to build and operate reliable and resilient subsea connectivity solutions, and we look forward to many more years working with E-marine.”
GCX issued a mobilisation request to E-marine to support the repairs of its Falcon Gulf Loop in the UAE contiguous zone. During the repairs, the world went into lockdown due to Covid-19, and as a result, new procedures were implemented not only by government regulatory authorities but also by customs, immigration, and local port authorities.
Using E-marine’s repair vessel CS Maram, GCX and E-marine teams worked diligently and the Gulf subsea system was repaired and restored within a week of repair mobilisation in late March.
During the operation, it was observed that the cable segment had multiple faults. As a result, E-marine was asked to transport additional kits from its Depot to Cable Ship Maram on the worksite, which was completed by deploying an additional supply boat. The repair operation was completed on 3 April 2020, and traffic on cable was fully restored.
“Our strategic location in the region allows us to undertake repairs most efficiently, and the reputation that we have created with the relevant authorities in the region for more than three decades helps us to get operational permissions for our vessels and crew quickly, even in unprecedented situations like the ongoing Covid pandemic,” said Omar Jassim Bin Kalban, CEO of E-marine.
“It is a difficult task, but our carefully laid operational norms/procedures and the deftness of our engineers and crew help us to perform the operations with aplomb safely.”
