Splicing Node PN1B into Segments 2 and 3

Thursday, July 19, 2012
Node Launch

Splicing of primary node PN1B into segment 3 was completed overnight and finished by 9:00am this morning. TE Subcom’s splicers are now working to complete the jointing of Segment 2 to the cable tail of the node.

We expect the splicing operations to be done later tonight and preparations for deploying PN1B are already underway. The weather is holding and conditions should be ideal for the deployment. This node is equipped with a trawl resistant frame because it will be installed in shallow water and is therefore much larger than the first node we deployed. The first node, PN1A, did not need a protective frame because it is located at ~2900 meters water depth.

Deploying PN1B It will be a challenging operation, but armed with experience acquired from prior dock training and practice our crew has been fine-tuning each step and is prepared for a safe and precise node installation.

--Cecile Durand, OOI Marine Maintenance Manager, University of Washington, at sea aboard the TESubCom Dependable.