Cable-laying ship ready to connect

New Portland-based vessel will lay fiber-optic cable on the ocean floor

By Ben Jacklet

The Portland Tribune, Dec 5, 2003, Updated Oct 30, 2009

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Tyco didn’t fare as badly as other firms when the telecom boom went bust. Companies that invested millions in laying fiber-optic cable on land and at sea went bankrupt as the cable sat unused.

Tyco spokesman Andrew Kowalik acknowledged that the boom years led to a serious oversupply of cable, both underground and in the Atlantic Ocean. But the Pacific still has potential, he said, and “we’re firm believers that Portland is a hub to Asia.”

Kowalik said employees from 28 telecom firms attended a series of events hosted by Tyco in Portland on Tuesday that culminated in a tour of the new ship and a party at the waterfront restaurant McCall’s.

The Durable will work with a crew of about 65 people. Unlicensed crew members from the Philippines will serve for four to six months at a time, while members of the American Maritime Officers union will work 75 days on and 75 days off.

The Durable is scheduled to steam to Japan this winter, where the crew will load cable for a project that will link Singapore to Asia.

Engineers first laid cable for telegraph operations on the ocean floor in 1866. Tyco got into the business 50 years ago, and its maritime projects span the globe.

Contact Ben Jacklet at-bjacklet@portlandtribune.com.

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