- After 6 days at sea, the cable repair ship Leon Thevenin reached its first target last night the West Africa Cable System (Wacs) S1i cable grounds.
- It will now need at least 48 hours to repair the cable, its owner company Orange Marine told Business Insider South Africa.
- It could take them up to February 8 to repair before moving on the the next break on the Sat-3/Wasc undersea cable.
- For more stories, visit Business Insider South Africa.
After 6 days at sea, cable repair ship Leon Thevenin reached its first target, the West Africa Cable System (Wacs) S1i cable grounds, last night, according to South African National Research and Education Network (SA NREN).
The transit to the WACS S1i cable ground is complete. Repairs are now underway by the Leon Thevenin. ETR remains 08 February 2020.
— REN Alerts (@RENAlerts) January 29, 2020
Satellite tracking on VesselFinder.com shows the cable layer is now roughly 200 nautical miles East of Cabinda, Angola.
Leon Thevenin has been tasked with repairing both undersea cables Wacs and the South Atlantic 3/West Africa (Sat-3/Wasc) which went down in the early hours of Thursday, 16 January 2020, said Openserve.
The vessel will need at least 48 hours to repair the cables, its owner company Orange Marine, told Business Insider South Africa.
It could take them up to February 8 (11 days) for the cable to be repaired, state-owned telecommunications company, Broadband Infraco, said in a tweet.
Dear WACS Customers, Please note the following updates with regards to recently reported cable breaks #BroadbandInfraco #WACS #submarinecable https://t.co/eZ9g7TBG6A pic.twitter.com/dNj82qYf0R
— Broadband Infraco (@bbinfraco) January 28, 2020
It was previously expected that the vessel would be making its way to fix the Sat-3/Wasc cable first which is much further North near Libreville, Gabon, as this was the repair commissioned first. However, it appears as if the ship has opted for the closer target and has been making a steady b-line for the Wacs cable instead.A second break on the Wacs cable, which was reported to originate on the United Kingdom side is expected to be fixed by 3 February, according to Broadband Infraco.
*This is a developing story.
Receive a daily update on your cellphone with all our latest news: click here.
Also from Business Insider South Africa:
- Checkers has a ‘secret’ online shop that’s up to 40% cheaper than its other stores - but there are a few catches
- Here’s how much it will cost to take larger businesses off the grid – if government scraps the ‘red tape’ now limiting self-help electricity
- 17 jobs paying more than R2 million in SA right now
- It can cost you R10,000 to stay at The Leonardo, the tallest not-quite-finished skyscraper in Africa
- How to find your next big idea and make it happen, from a CEO who's done it
- The definitive guide to what to do if you lost your ID, passport, credit card or cell phone
