Meeting the Cable Ship in Astoria

Monday, June 27, 2011
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Cecile Durand, the OOI Regional Scale Nodes Marine Maintenance Manager at the University of Washington, reports from Astoria, Oregon:

The TE SubCom Dependable has arrived in Astoria and is loading fuel and supplies for her two-month voyage to install the OOI/RSN cable. Representatives from Ocean Leadership, the University of Washington, the Oregon Fishermen’s Cable Committee (OFCC) and Protected Species Visual Observers (PSVOs) have joined the vessel and have been briefed on the details of the plan of work.


The installation team consists of TE Subcom personnel managed by their Engineer in Charge (EIC) and directed by L3 Maripro personnel (customer on board). The role of the UW and OL representatives on board will be to ensure that the OOI cable is laid according to the technical specifications. Two OFCC representatives are onboard to support the installation effort and verify that burial of the cable on the continental margin meets the RSN permit requirements. The primary role of the OFCC is to observe the installation operations and ensure that fishing hazards along the cable route are identified and recorded. The two PSVOs will monitor the presence of marine mammals or sea turtles entering the safety zone (500ft) along the cable route to ensure that no protected species is being endangered during the laying operations. In the afternoon we were informed that the departure will be delayed to the next day, June 28th, 18:00. The team is taking this extra time to settle down, install the equipment and prepare for departure.