Global Marine Systems
Encyclopedia
Global Marine Systems is a specialist-shipping
company that installs, maintains and repairs submarine communications
and power cables
.
ship Monarch IV was responsible for laying the first transatlantic co-axial cable system. After the UK Government created the National telephone company, the cable ships were split between two entities, one focused on the UK and one on the rest of the British Empire.
These two entities eventually became British Telecom and Cable & Wireless
, and in 1995 BT agreed to sell its Southampton
based division BT Marine to Cable & Wireless. In 1998, C&W Marine acquired competitor General Offshore.
In 1999 during the dot.com boom, Cable & Wireless sold the company to Global Crossing
, who renamed the company Global Marine Systems Limited. After the dot.com boom started to collapse, Global Crossing came under increased financial pressure, and so sold the company in 2004 ownership was transferred to Bridgehouse Marine.
, Essex
in the UK, with representation in Singapore
, Florida
and Boston
. The company has five depots, based in:
was the first laser regenerative (repeatered) system to completely cross the Pacific Ocean
from the US mainland to Japan
. Running 9,531 km, the US portion of NPC was manufactured in Portland, Oregon
in 1990 at STC Submarine Systems, and later Alcatel Submarine Networks (the plant was shutdown in 2001). The system was laid by Cable & Wireless Marine on the CS Cable Venture in 1991. The cable was retired in 2003 after 13years service.
Shipping
Shipping has multiple meanings. It can be a physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo, by land, air, and sea. It also can describe the movement of objects by ship.Land or "ground" shipping can be by train or by truck...
company that installs, maintains and repairs submarine communications
Submarine communications cable
A submarine communications cable is a cable laid on the sea bed between land-based stations to carry telecommunication signals across stretches of ocean....
and power cables
Submarine power cable
Submarine power cables are major transmission cables for carrying electric power below the surface of the water. These are called "submarine" because they usually carry electric power beneath salt water but it is also possible to use submarine power cables beneath fresh water...
.
History
The General Post OfficeGeneral Post Office
General Post Office is the name of the British postal system from 1660 until 1969.General Post Office may also refer to:* General Post Office, Perth* General Post Office, Sydney* General Post Office, Melbourne* General Post Office, Brisbane...
ship Monarch IV was responsible for laying the first transatlantic co-axial cable system. After the UK Government created the National telephone company, the cable ships were split between two entities, one focused on the UK and one on the rest of the British Empire.
These two entities eventually became British Telecom and Cable & Wireless
Cable & Wireless
Cable & Wireless Worldwide PLC is a global telecommunications company headquartered in Bracknell, United Kingdom. Cable & Wireless specialises in providing communication networks and services to large corporates, governments, carrier customers and resellers...
, and in 1995 BT agreed to sell its Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
based division BT Marine to Cable & Wireless. In 1998, C&W Marine acquired competitor General Offshore.
In 1999 during the dot.com boom, Cable & Wireless sold the company to Global Crossing
Global Crossing
Global Crossing Limited was a telecommunications company that provides computer networking services worldwide. It maintained a large backbone and offered transit and peering links, VPN, leased lines, audio and video conferencing, long distance telephone, managed services, dialup, colocation and...
, who renamed the company Global Marine Systems Limited. After the dot.com boom started to collapse, Global Crossing came under increased financial pressure, and so sold the company in 2004 ownership was transferred to Bridgehouse Marine.
Today
Global Marine is now an independent company able to offer planning, installation, and maintenance of a submarine network system. Global Marine provides support in four distinct markets: telecoms; renewable energy; the oil and gas industry; and defence. Global Marine employs just over 600 people worldwide, with two thirds of them based at sea. Its head office is in ChelmsfordChelmsford
Chelmsford is the county town of Essex, England and the principal settlement of the borough of Chelmsford. It is located in the London commuter belt, approximately northeast of Charing Cross, London, and approximately the same distance from the once provincial Roman capital at Colchester...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
in the UK, with representation in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
. The company has five depots, based in:
- BermudaBermudaBermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
- CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
– Victoria, British ColumbiaVictoria, British ColumbiaVictoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian... - IndonesiaIndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
– Batam - PhilippinesPhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
– Batangas - UK – Isle of PortlandIsle of PortlandThe Isle of Portland is a limestone tied island, long by wide, in the English Channel. Portland is south of the resort of Weymouth, forming the southernmost point of the county of Dorset, England. A tombolo over which runs the A354 road connects it to Chesil Beach and the mainland. Portland and...
Group historical achievements
- First transatlantic fibre optic submarine cable, TAT-8, 1988
- First private transatlantic fibre optic submarine cable, PTAT,1989
- First transpacific fibre optic submarine cable, NPC, 1990
- First to use an offshore vessel for cable installation
- First to plough unarmoured cablePipe-and-cable-laying ploughA pipe-and-cable-laying plough is a trenchless method to bury cables or pipes.The machinery is a form of a subsoiler with a single blade. It is used to lay buried services of virtually any description, for drainage, water, electricity, telecommunications, gas supply etc....
over 1,000km in one operation Brunei-Singapore, 1992 - First to post-lay bury to 2,000 metres, Pacific Rim West, 1994
- First to bury cable to 10 metres and 4 metres in rock,APCN 1995
North Pacific Cable system
The NPC (cable system)NPC (cable system)
NPC is a submarine telecommunications cable system in the North Pacific Ocean linking the USA and Japan.It has landing points in:#Miura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan#Pacific City, Tillamook County, Oregon, USA...
was the first laser regenerative (repeatered) system to completely cross the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
from the US mainland to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. Running 9,531 km, the US portion of NPC was manufactured in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
in 1990 at STC Submarine Systems, and later Alcatel Submarine Networks (the plant was shutdown in 2001). The system was laid by Cable & Wireless Marine on the CS Cable Venture in 1991. The cable was retired in 2003 after 13years service.