The cable repair vessel, Pacific Guardian arrived in St. Maarten waters Monday and immediately began repairs on TelEm Group’s SMPR-1 undersea cable
The cable was severed by an as yet, still unidentified vessel’s anchor earlier this month.
The damage knocked out all international voice and internet data links between St. Maarten and the outside world for several hours.
On Monday the Pacific Guardian’s Captain and crew met with TelEm Group’s Chief Technical Officer (CTO) Mr. Eldert Louisa and other TelEm Group personnel to plot a course of action for the coming days.
Mr. Louisa said the cable repair experts will be deploying state-of-the-art submersible equipment to located and bring the damaged cable parts to the waiting vessel where they can be treated and repaired (spliced) in a 16-hour operation.
The repair team represents a company called Global Marine which is affiliated to the Atlantic Cable Repair and Maintenance Agreement (ACMA).
"As a member of ACMA we have been able to utilize this well-equipped vessel and skilled crew to carry out the cable repairs in a lot less time than we originally thought possible," said Mr. Louisa.
"We met with the team this morning and we are confident they will be able to complete the repairs as expected and within the time allotted," continued the CTO.
Mr. Louisa said TelEm personnel, Engineer Jed Carty and International Customer Relations Officer, Chet Euton will be overseeing the day to day operation on behalf of TelEm Group on board the Pacific Guardian.
If all goes as planned, the repaired undersea cable will be back in the water by Wednesday after which connections will be restored and integrity tests conducted.
Mr. Louisa said a third TelEm Group employee, Mr. Alberto Carty, will be in Puerto Rico today so that he can be on hand there when the cable, which lies between Puerto Rico and St. Maarten, is reconnected.
Damage to the SMPR-1 cable has raised some important discussions about new investments in cable redundancy options for TelEm Group, particularly how funds can be made available to provide for such redundancy and how all stakeholders on the island can play their part.
"Considering the importance of the SMPR-1 to the economy of St. Maarten, it is clear that we have to talk about shared funding and the participation of all stakeholders in the additional redundancy required for the island," said TelEm Group’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Mrs. Helma Etnel, shortly after the extent of the cable damage was first realized.