Orange inaugurates a new cable ship, the Sophie Germain

Orange announces the official inauguration of a new cable ship, the Sophie Germain. This ship specializes in the laying and maintenance of submarine cables. The Sophie Germain must more precisely carry out the repair of various types of submarine cables in the Mediterranean, in the Red Sea and in the Black Sea.

This ship is 100 meters long by 18.8 meters wide and can accommodate up to 76 people. The construction of the ship lasted 3 years, and was completed last August. The Sophie Germain was built in Sri Lanka. She had been ordered in December 2020 and was out of dry dock in November. He is based in La Seyne-sur-Mer, in the Var.

The crew will consist of about sixty people on board likely to live in self-sufficiency for 35 days in Orange.

The Sophie Germain embarks a new generation wire-guided underwater robot or ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle), with a power of 450 kW, designed and manufactured by Orange Marine, used to cut, inspect and bury the cables, stored on board in a dedicated hangar.

“Her name was chosen in order to perpetuate the tradition of naming our ships after French scientists. This time, the tribute is paid to the brilliant French mathematician, physicist and philosopher of the 18ᵉ century” mentions Orange.

🚢 What a pride to inaugurate today the #SophieGermain, our new generation @orange cable ship!
A feat of engineering and sustainable innovation, it reinforces our key role in the installation and maintenance of submarine cables, an essential pillar of global connectivity. 👏 pic.twitter.com/TU8bdHXbUX

– Christel Heydemann (@Cheydema) September 22, 2023

Ouest France specifies that the cable “Sophie Germain” replaces the “Raymond Croze”, aged 40 years.

“Arrived on Saturday, August 19 in the harbor of Toulon, the Sophie Germain crossed paths with her predecessor there, back from her ultimate mission” evokes Ouest France. “An unlikely encounter: the new cable company should have arrived earlier and the old one should not have been at sea, but had been requested for a repair on a submarine telecommunications cable in the Strait of Gibraltar”.

1.3 million kilometers of submarine cables run around the globe

Orange Marine, the Orange entity specialized in the laying and maintenance of submarine cables, claims a fleet of 7 ships in service, i.e. 15% of the world fleet of this type of ship.

By the end of 2022, Orange Marine’s ships had installed more than 257,000 kilometers of optical fibers and carried out more than 800 repairs, some of which were more than 6,000 meters deep.

486 submarine cables crisscross the seabed, representing 1.3 million kilometers, or 33 times the circumference of the Earth. They provide almost 99% of intercontinental exchanges, despite the strong development of Internet communication satellite fleets.