E-Marine, the region’s leader in submarine cable deployment, maintenance and repair, today announced it has completed the first phase in the deployment of the 4900km TEAMS (The East Africa Marine System) cable to Mombasa, Kenya after the successful landing in Fujairah, UAE. E-Marine’s flagship, Cable Ship Niwa, began laying the cable earlier this month and it is anticipated that it will complete the project by June, 2009. The second phase of the project is in progress now and the TEAMS cable will eventually connect Kenya to the UAE.
“Our flagship Cable Ship Niwa is now well underway in the deployment of the TEAMS cable and has departed the coast of the UAE for Mombasa earlier this month. We are delighted to announce today the completion of the first phase of the project,” said Omar Bin Kalban, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of E-Marine PJSC. “We are aware of the piracy issue and are taking all the necessary steps to protect our crew and vessel,” Mr. Bin Kalban added.
‘TEAMS’ is an initiative spearheaded by the government of Kenya to link the country to the rest of the world through a submarine fiber optic cable. The 4900 km fiber optic cable is to link the city of Mombasa on the coast of Kenya to Fujairah in the UAE. The ultimate capacity of the cable is 1.2 terra bits i.e. 2 fibers at 640 Gb/s. The Kenyan Government owns 45% of the project, with Etisalat owning a 15% share. The remaining is shared amongst regional telecommunications companies and Internet Service Providers (ISPs), as well as fund managers.
