Canadian cable-laying ships look for international work [Video]

After a brief stop in Halifax, a fleet of three cable-laying ships are heading out to sea to connect the world.

“We primarily operate in the northern hemisphere, but we essentially go anywhere that the Government of Canada and its economic sanctions will allow us to go,” says Steve Arsenault, marketing VP for IT International Telecom.

There are only three cable-laying ships in Canada and combined they’ve put down thousands of kilometres of cable around the world.

Carrying 99 per cent of all data traffic, underwater fibreoptic cables are an integral part of international communications but the benefits extend beyond the ability to send and receive email.

“We’ve done a few jobs where we’ve dropped down scientific devices that are used for tsunami warnings, tracking mammals, sub-sea mammals, and things like that,” says the company’s CCO Paul Kravis.

Some of that work is done in Canadian waters, but there one region remains underserved.

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