According to the company’s website “the designated ship has been deployed to the location of the fault where it will proceed to locate the cable on the seabed. This will take place within an extended perimeter as the cable will have moved around the seabed from where the installation ship dropped it over a year ago. This is normal and caused by the natural sea bed movements and strong submarine currents in that area.”

 

“Once located with the help of cable station staff and specialised equipment, the cable will be picked up before being brought onboard the ship to undergo the necessary repair. This will include cutting the cable to remove the affected portion, reviewing the physical integrity of the cable before proceeding with the initial splicing of the spare cable segment which has been be tested and prepared while in transit onboard the ship. When the final splicing is completed, the entire system will be thoroughly tested before the cable is lowered back in the water,” a SEACOM statement continued.

 

Although the repair team is currently at work SEACOM estimated that the cable system will be operational once again by late this week. During the interim, South African internet users connected via SEACOM bandwidth will continue to experience impeded or limited international connectivity.