Preparing for the Cable Landings
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Things are shaping up onboard The TE SubCom Dependable in preparation for the cable landings in Pacific City, now scheduled for July 12 and July 14. Lines of red buoys are being laid out on deck to "float" the cable to the exit point of each horizontal direction drilling conduit. From there, assisted by divers, the OOI cable will be pulled to shore along the 1.5km of steel pipe drilled months ago under the seabed from the parking lot at our landing site in Pacific City.
The TE SubCom crew is working hard to make sure the sea plow is ready for the job. It has had a fresh coat of paint just before this trip, and will soon be covered in mud! This should be interesting.... The same crew is also working on the Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) that will be used in areas where the plow cannot be used for cable burial, in particular at the end of each cable segment. Everybody on board is anxious to finally get out of "Post Lay Grapnel Run (PLGR) mode." That's for sure!
--Cecile Durand, the OOI Regional Scale Nodes Marine Maintenance Manager at the University of Washington, reports from aboard the TE SubCom Dependable.
